At a time when controversial secretly discussed and signed agreements are surfacing all posing national security risk and sovereignty threats to Sri Lanka, it only calls to mind a comparison of the modern day black princes to Don Juan Dharmapala who betrayed not only the Nation but Rata, Jathiya, Agama. The present black princes are betraying Sri Lanka with impunity and immunity and with no qualms about the damage being done to either the Nation or its People. How different is Don Juan Dharmapala from the bevy of black princes who are destroying a proud historical past.

Prince Dharmapala was baptize Dom Joao in 1557 & eventually came to be known Don Juan Dharmapala. He was the eldest grandson of the King of Kotte. Dharmapala’s youth and rule being divided gave Portuguese the upper hand which cannot be likened to the rule of present leadership who has over 40 years in politics. What eventually did happen was that the Portuguese did not respect the young King Dharmapala or his rule and the West/India is likely to be pooh poohing the present Government only until it gets this government to do all that it wants.

What young Dharmapala came to realize too late and what the present Government should realize before its too late, is that there was no rule in the country.

If the Portuguese did what they wanted without respecting the King, is it any different to the present foreign envoys flouting all Vienna diplomatic conventions entering state institutes, demanding to see state records, meeting every person they like without following diplomatic protocols, inspecting Sri Lanka’s lands, travelling all over the island without seeking permission first?

Eventually it came to a point where the king had to end up seeking support of the Portuguese as his own people disgusted with his rule was going against him – so the king had to reach out to the enemy for safety. Isn’t this what the present government is doing? Isn’t the West & India keeping this government alive, propping them up with cosmetic diplomatic statements applauding their ‘good governance’ that is fast becoming a laughing matter among the public? This government has been up to no good since day 1 of regime change but have you heard the West/India complain?

How different is Don Juan’s gifting mortis causa (Gift Deed) the Kingdom of Kotte to the Portuguese on 12 August 1580 to the ACSA-SOFA-MCC deals being ventured into virtually 422 years later and an over 200mile economic corridor cutting Sri Lanka into 2 for 200 years? Bequeathing an entire island nation is an act of treachery both in 1580 and every secret agreement signed since 2015.

Don Juan not only betrayed his kingship by becoming a willing puppet which is exactly what the present Government is doing yet thinking they can continue to enjoy the perks of office after having bequeathed all control over governance & government in Sri Lanka virtually outsourcing all to foreign hands.

Even if we excuse Don Juan Dharmapala for forsaking his kingship, heritage of Lanka and virtually handing over Lanka to foreign hands, we can never forgive or forget the treacheries being done presently partnering with countries that have had no qualms about using atomic bombs, dropping drones killing civilians and public infrastructure, purposely destroying heritage sites out of jealousy, using chemical weapons in warfare and carrying out unethical warfare with countries that have not even declared war with them.

When Dharmapala forfeited Buddhism to become Catholic it kick-started the wave of anti-Buddhist programs that were rolled out by Portuguese-Dutch British & continued post-independence by INGOs, NGOs, faith-based organizations, foreign-funded media and other groups. Incrementally the damage has been happening since 1597.

Don Juan went overboard to please the Portuguese – Sri Lanka’s ancient temples were transferred to Franciscan Friars (Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, Kithsiri Mewan Viharaya at Kelaniya & Dalada Maligawa too) Don Juan simply watched them being destroyed. 12 Churches were built on top of them. Churches sprang up in Panadura, Maggona, Beruwela, Galle & Weligama. Don Juan watched as Portuguese men satisfied their lust for women – it reminds us about the 3000 Tamil women raped by IPKF soldiers and the same scenario likely to happen if US troops are allowed to enter Sri Lanka and have virtual barracks anywhere in Sri Lanka.

Every piece of legislation passed since 2015 is a threat to the nation for it is giving foreign hands a say in what happens in Sri Lanka as if these countries are virtuous, moral or even having good governance records. All of these nations today pointing fingers at Sri Lanka have blood on their hands and history is witness making no apology, accountability or even reparation for these crimes while they unashamedly demand crimes be investigated of other countries all of which are suffering conflicts indirectly engineered by them and by groups armed by them. Knowing the records of these countries – how can any country even consider venturing into such dangerous agreements with them?

In 1597 Don Juan Dharmpala did not think that when he forfeited his powers to the Portuguese he would not be able to ask it back, even if he did he did not realize that he would not have been returned the Kotte Kingdom.

Has the Govt that is now attempting to privatize all land, create an economic corridor where foreign law would apply which is over 200m long and is supposed to be valid for 200 years – thought about the repercussions of allowing this corridor? Once signed can we annul the agreement without paying billions in compensation. Why should the people have to pay for mistakes made by leaders who are refusing to see the dangers of these detrimental deals and going ahead to secretly sign them? The law should have a new clause that any secret deals ventured into in case of annulment because of national security risk, compensation should be paid by the politicians and public officials that helped secretly sign them.

Don Juan by forfeiting his Kingdom became a virtual slave & puppet of the Portuguese – he was even poisoned after being invited to dinner by Diogo de Melo and reminds us of the fate of – Osama, Saddam, Gaddafi, Milosevic who faced the same fate. Dharmapala didn’t die but ended up a stammerer for the rest of his life. Of course, the government must be getting untold inducements for their treacheries – we do not mind them forsaking their personal property but Sri Lanka is an island nation with a recorded history of over 2600 years, we have faced over 18 invasions from South India and 3 Western countries ruled for over 400 years not because they invaded us or conquered us but because we had traitors to hand over the nation to them. Traitors have handed Sri Lanka numerous other times and that is the sad story of Sri Lanka and we see this repeatedly happening. Probably treachery is in their genes. But we have also had great war heroes, great defenders of the Nation, proud people who have come forward to defend the Nation & their People and it is now time for them to rally again.

Sadly, when the white man descended first to Lanka, our people were innocent and welcomed them little knowing the evil they had in mind. However, over 400 years of atrocities done to us, recorded known by our people and the realization that the very countries guilty of colonial crimes are today venturing to commit neocolonial crimes should make our present day leaders more aware and not willing fall into their hands for various personal inducements made tapping their weaknesses but leaving the entire nation vulnerable.

The People’s Court will soon decide the fate of these traitors for their treacheries.

Shenali D Waduge

by Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan

What happened recently in Hong Kong Autonomous Region (SAR) of China has shocked the world. On 1 July, the 22^nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to mainland China, some riots with the dressed lie of democracy, acted like cruel extremists, broke into the Legislative Council building of Hong Kong, and vandalized various facilities. What enraged China and shocked the world further is British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s remarks on the second day. Mr. Hunt said that the UK stands behind people in Hong Kong in defence of the freedoms that Britain negotiated for them, and the Hong Kong authorities must not use demonstrators’ vandalism as a pretext for repression.

I would stress that China has resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong and the Chinese government started administering Hong Kong since 1997. The 150 years’ humiliating history of Hong Kong being a colony to UK since 1840s has gone. It seems that someone is still immersed in the faded glory of colonialism. Mr. Hunt is obsessed with condescendingly criticizing other countries and keeps lying without remorse.

First, after Hong Kong’s return to China, British rights and obligations as outlined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration were completed. The UK has no sovereignty or rights to rule and supervise Hong Kong after the handover. There is no room for Britain to claim any so-called responsibility over Hong Kong whatsoever. Claiming itself the guardian of Hong Kong is nothing more than self-entertaining.

Second, Mr Hunt says that the UK negotiated freedoms for Hong Kong. How brazen is that! Was there any democracy when the British governors were in Hong Kong? People in Hong Kong didn’t even have the right to take to the streets then. It is only after the return that Hong Kong residents started enjoying unprecedented democratic rights and freedoms. The Chinese Government strictly follows the Constitution and the Basic Law. It earnestly implements the one country, two systems” policy. It ensures that the people of Hong Kong govern Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy.

Third, the violent storming into the Legislative Council on July 1 is a grave illegal activity. It tramples on the rule of law and undermines social order. In total disregard of facts, Mr. Hunt called the SAR government’s response “repression”. That is entirely misleading. We want to ask Mr. Hunt, if it were the British Parliament that had been broken into and vandalized, what would the British government do? Will it sit by idly and let the protesters have their way? Will he call the British police’s handling of the August 2011 riot in London “repression”?

Those external forces who under the disguise of all self-boasting justice and human rights, are actually bullying other countries all the time while interfering with others’ internal affairs. In the colonial times, they exploited wealth and enslaved people from other countries. In the new ear, with the old mindset, they are making use of every opportunity to stick nose into others’ internal affairs and create chaos.

Countries like China and Sri Lanka, who shared a common history of being bullied and colonized by powers should always remain vigilant in terms of external interference. Such interference can never bring benefits, but only trouble, chaos and disasters. China, adhering to independent and peaceful diplomatic policies, will never interfere with others’ internal affairs and is strongly against such behavior. We should always insist on independence, fight against external interference and make their own decisions. Only in this way can we march toward the right direction and embrace a brighter future. 

Courtesy Adaderana

Four persons have been arrested while in possession of 290 electric detonators at Hedigama, Piliyandala, says the Police Media Spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunasekara.

They were taken into custody from a house in the Hedigama area acting on a tip-off was received by the Piliyandala Police on the matter, the police spokesperson said.

The arrest was made in a search jointly carried out by the Sri Lanka Army and the Police.

Accordingly, the arrestees were identified as the owner of the house, his two sons and the person who had given them the stock of detonators.

Piliyandala Police conducting further investigations into the incident. 

Courtesy Adaderana

President Maithripala Sirisena has said the people will have the opportunity to elect a new government within the next five months and that he expects them to use their franchise wisely to select honest individuals who love the country.

The only way to re-build this economically backward and the corrupted country is to elect a government with honest politicians, the President has stated attending a ceremony to declare open the newly-constructed District Hospital in Nuwara Eliya today (15), the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

Politicians, who love the country will instinctively work to uplift the public, the President has said.

He has pointed out that achieving development goals would not have become a challenge if the workforce of the government sector, the front runner of the forward march of the country with strong manpower of 1.6 million as well as the academics, carry out their due responsibilities.

During the last five years, the welfare programmes carried out for the benefit of the estate sector people is unparalleled, the President has said, adding that many steps have been taken to ensure free medical and education facilities of this important segment of the society.

Illegal drug trafficking is the simplest and the easiest way to destroy a country, the President has stressed. The country is unable to reap the real benefits of many progressive activities due to clandestine agendas of some political parties and their members, he has continued.

The President has also emphasized the importance of work beyond petty political gains.

The Nuwara Eliya district hospital, built with the financial assistance of the Kingdom of Netherlands, comprises a 600-bed ward complex, operation theatres with modern technology, Intensive Care Units, Outer Patients Clinics, pharmacies, dialysis units as well as quarters for doctors and nurses, the PMD reported.

The construction work of this hospital was commenced in 2012 when the President was holding the portfolio of the Health Minister and the hospital is expected to provide quality service to the tourists who are visiting the picturesque Nuwara Eliya city, the PMD said.

Following the unveiling of the plaque, President has reportedly engaged on an inspection tour.

President has registered the first three patients who came to the hospital for treatment, the PMD added. 

Ministers Rajitha Senaratne and Navin Dissanayake, Governor of the Central Province Maithri Gunaratne, Secretary to the Ministry of Health Wasantha Perera, Director General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe, a delegation from the Netherlands and the Director of Nuwara Eliya Hospital Dr. Mahendra Seneviratne were among the gathering.

Asoka Weerasinghe (Mr.) Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 . Canada

11 July 2019

His Excellency David McKinnon
Canadian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka
Canadian High Commission
33A  5th Lane
Colpetty
Colombo 3
Sri Lanka.

Dear High Commissioner David McKinnon:

Re: Canada distorts the Truth about Tamil Genocide allegations in Sri Lanka

 I read with hurried interest the news item Canada to support conflict prevention in Sri Lanka , in The Island of July 4, reporting what you had said on Canada Day.

Reading it, one would have expected this expatriate Sinhalese-Sri Lankan-Canadian who has been domiciled in Canada, since 26 August 1968 (with a  hiatus between 29 May 1970, and October 16, 1970), first in St. John’s, Newfoundland and then in Ottawa since 16 October 16, 1970, to tell himself, O! Canada, you have finally seen the light about Sri Lanka.”

If what you said should had excited the cockles of my heart and made me sit on a Roman Candle on Canada Day fire-works display, to shoot myself up into the indigo sky throwing multi-coloured fireballs on everyone down below,  shouting ”Yippee..yippee”  with joy  celebrating Canada Day,  but, Oops,  unfortunately it never happened.

Why not?” You may ask.  There was an undertone of bigotry in your statement”,I would say. Then what would have satisfied the cockles of your heart?” you may ask. And I would have responded,

That is easy.  If your statement had been – Canada to support conflict prevention in Sri Lanka as well as in Canada by reining the anti-Sri Lanka politicians who make the reconciliation process difficult by sustaining the Eelam rhetoric  with their questionable statements and Private Member Bills and voting to probe Tamil Genocide” in Sri Lanka which never happened, like a bunch of Tamil Blarney Curry-in-a-Hurry popsicle suckers.”  That would have delighted me and I would have said, Thank You, High Commissioner David McKinnon, you are one honest Canadian diplomat, much, much better than High Commissioner Nancy Stiles who had a soft spot for the Tamil Eelam cause.  Way to go Sir!”

Brampton City Council under its veteran Sri Lanka hater  Mayor Patrick Brown,  declaring May 18 as the City’s Remembrance Day of Tamil Genocide, only showed your bigotry, This is the MP for Barrie who bicycled around Parliament’s campus with NDP rookie Tamil MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan in October 2011 showing the Channel 4 questionable film,”Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” film, with John Argue of Amnesty International following them like a sick puppy to give their dubious act  legitimacy.

Do you know what High Commissioner? That declaration of the Brampton City Council,  kicked and woke up the sleeping Sinhalese lions and lionesses as over 600 of them demonstrated in front of Brampton City Council on May 21.  I believe the Council was sitting in its Chamber that evening and heard the  ‘lion and lioness’ roars of the angry demonstrators loud and clearly in protest shouting Patrick Brown you are a Clown.”   This is the same anti-Sri Lanka hating MP who lambasted the Sri Lanka Government  on TV in mid- 2009 for not giving him and his colleague Paul Calandra visas to enter Sri Lanka in mid-2009 to check on the Tamil refugee camps in the North.

 I thought it was an unfair demand when the Sri Lanka Government was involved in the horrendous logistics to provide comfortable accommodation to the 295,873 Tamil refugees that they rescued from the clutches of the Tamil Tigers and preparing a million hearty meals a day, breakfasts, lunches and dinners, than spend time to provide visas and security to Patrick Brown and Paul Calandra, when they were not even Junior Ministers of the Canadian Government.

 You bet,  these Sinhalese protesters won’t go to sleep again, as  they have had enough of this Tamil blarney from the separatist Tamils and their Canadian politician supporters, who have sold their souls for a Tamil vote.

The question to you High Commissioner is, what are you going to do about it?  Are you going to rein in these politicians of deceit, who have willfully broken the Human Rights Code of reconciliation, and introduced their Tamil Tiger Code of re-CON-ciliation, between the Sinhalease and the separatist-Tamils. Too bad!

Then there was ACT 2 of ‘Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka: The dishonest Play of Tamil Genocide Blarney’.

The City of Toronto under the Mayorship of John Tory  too proclaimed May 18 as the Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.”  and so  pouffff went your statement , Canada to support conflict prevention in Sri Lanka, but Canada certainly keeps the banned Tamil Tiger flag flying with such Tamil Genocide Tamil Blarney proclamations.  So, High Commissioner David McKinnon,  your statement on Canada Day had lost its currency of diplomatic honesty.  So what are you going to do about it?  And the Tamil Tiger Code of re-CON-ciliation lives another day in Canada.

Then there was ACT 3 of ‘Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka: The dishonest Play of Tamil Genocide Blarney,’ which blew your statement ‘Canada to support conflict prevention in Sri Lanka’ into smithereens,   That was a cruel joke on the Sri Lankans.  How could you support conflict prevention when the pro-Eelam politicians keep  stirring the witches brew in an iron cauldron decorated with the Canadian red Maple leaf.  This is ‘Bigotry” I said, and I will say it again.  It is bigotry in the first order!

This was Act 3, when 59 members of the Ontario Legislature stood up in the Legislative-Chamber and said Aye”  pushing through the Second Reading of Tamil Genocide Bill 104.  This Bill 104 was drafted packed with indelible untruths, lies,  to proclaim a Tamil Genocide Education Week in Ontario.

My observation was, Are these 59  Moms and Dads, the majority who very likely have young families who are focused to bringing up their childen in an honest Global Village, trying not to pollute their young minds with the words Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka, when it never happened.  And mind you, the word Genocide” is twinned with the active word Hate”.  What?   A Canadian kid who wouldn’t recognize where the little speck of an island, a pimple in the Indian Ocean is in a world map, being taught  that there was Tamil-Genocide  in that remote island of Sri Lanka, and  thus hating the guilty, the Sinhalese-Canadian classmates.  This is surreal.   This is insane. This is poppycock-crazy!.

These 59 Aye” saying Councillors have to take that parental responsibility for distorting the truth, when Tamil-Genocide never happened.  Shish!  What nastiness.  I object to this Bill 104 which is a callous act of mockery of the word Truth”  It is an incipient act of divisiveness of the multi-ethnic Sri Lankan-Canadan community right across Canada, just not only in the Province of Ontario.  This Bill 104 insults the dignity of the Sri Lankan-Sinhalese Canadian community, which I happen to be one of them.

And that Bill 104 denies the validity of your statement in Colombo on Canada Day, High Commissioner McKinnon.  And that is a sad indictment of guilt of bigotry.  That is the rub.  And that’s how the cookie  crumbles, Mr. High Commissioner.  The question is, what are you going to do about it when it impacts on you and your statement on Canada Day?

And here is Act 4 of  Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka: The dishonest Play of Tamil Genocide Blarney”, and it is a doosey, showing that our Canada is a nation of putrid-arrogance, to promote ourselves as We are Holier than Thou.”  And that is an overkill, isn’t it High Commissioner David McKinnon?

Here is a perfect textbook example of a Canadian pot calling a Sri Lankan kettle black. Specially, when Canada is accused of Genocide” on Aboriginal women  in a voluminous Report, ‘Claim our Power and Our Place’ delivered on Monday, June 3, 2019, to the Canadian authorities which was written after two years of work by a specialized Commission – that thousands of indiginous women were murdered or missing in recent decades have been victims of ‘Genocide’; in our Canada,  and Lo behold, the NDP Motion was adopted in the House of Commons to investigate Sri Lanka’s actions to defeat Tamil Tiger Terrorism in the years 2006 to 2009 as an act of Genocide”. 

Mr. High Commissioner, all what I want to do is scream saying Give me a break, Canada.”  That Motion was proposed by NDP and was passed in the House with the consent of all parties on the 19th of June, 2019.  Wow!  What a colonial-type of arrogance!

Ha! All parties they said.   What?

 Let’s look at these parties clinically, and their interest in Sri Lanka, and their extraordinary interest in the separatist Tamil Movement, and warring with the Sri Lankan armed forces for 30-bloodying years, to carve out one-third of the prime real estate in the north and east to create their mono-ethnic, racist, separate Tamil State, Eelam for 12% of the population.

NDP’s support for the separatist Tamils  was exposed when their  late leader Jack Layton compared the  leader of the ruthless serial assassins, the Tamil Tiger terrorists, Velupillai Prabhakaran to South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, in front of 10,000 Tamils at Queen’s Park.   Nelson Mandela would have turned in his grave, looked straight into Jack Layton’s eyes and told him, Stop insulting me man.  Are you an idiot or what!”

It was Jack Layton who called for an Emergency Meeting on Sri Lanka at the Parliamentary Chambers on 4th February 2009, which was a circus of clowns.  I watched them on CPAC and christened this event as the  Canadian Tamil Tiger Blarney Gong Show. 

So the NDPiers sold their souls to the Tamil Diaspora, to seek a favour from them – their bloc vote.  And they have the gall and temerity to pass a motion in parliament to investigate Sri Lanka’s action to defeat Tamil Tiger terrorism between 2006 and 2009 as an act of Genocide.”

And I wouldn’t hesitate to tell Ms.Salma Zahid, MP for Scarborough Center, to get off her high-horse and try not to embarrass herself, by trying to be smart to win the Tamil votes in her constituency.  And not to challenge the strategy and intelligence of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces for annihilating the Tamil Tiger terrorists to give back the  most coveted human right, the right-to-life to 21 million peoples which had been hijacked by the Tamil Tigers for 30 long years.  Come down from your high-horse Ms. Salma Zahid.”

Let’s look at the Liberals, clinically, why they looked aside when the separatist Tamil Diaspora collected 2 million dollars a month for 13 years under the leadership of

Prime Ministers Jean Chretian and Paul Martin, to stuff the Tamil Tiger War Chest to buy a sophisticated armoury of Kalashnikovs, bullets, land mines, claymore mines, et cetera, to help win their separatist war. Hmmmm!  In other words, Canada aided and abetted that Eelam war and prolonged it.  There is No ifs and buts.

It was the Liberals in 1994 who let a member of the Tamil Diaspora cut a cheque from a Bank in Vancouver to pay the Rubizone Chemical Factory in the Ukraine for the purchase of 10 tons of hexogen, plastic explosives like Semtex; 50 tons of TNT, and a large quantity of electric timing caps and detonator cord.  These were the explosives that were used in a truck bomb to bring down the Central Bank Building in Colombo, on January 31, 1996.  That truck bomb killed 114 people and  maimed 1,338 others for life.

And so the Liberal Party had the gall and temerity to support this brainless motion by the NDP to investigate Sri Lanka’s actions between 2006 and 2009 which they say was an act of Genocide.

It were the Liberal Terrible 5 – Robert Oliphant, Jim Karygiannis, Judy Sgro, Derek Lee and Albina Guanierri, who accused the Sri Lanka Government of Genocide during the Canadian Tamil Tiger Blarney Gong Show on 4 February 2009.  When questioned about Genocide”, this Liberal Terrible 5 choked.  They just could  not back up their allegation.  Your Excellency, at that point I fell on my knees  with my palms together and I asked , the Sweet Mother of Jesus, to help Sri Lanka from these moronic Canadian accusations.  All this for a Tamil vote. 

And finally, lets clinically analyse the Conservatives who supported this motion of the NDP.

It was the Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper who went into a hissy-fit and boycotted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference held in Colombo  in November 2013.  He was merely pandering to the Tamil voters in the Greater Toronto Area.  This was embarrassing as he expected the other Commonwealth Heads like the UK and Australia to file behind him in support.  There was not a snowball’s chance in hell for his silliness. He was snubbed as they all more or less told him, All right Stephen, if you want to stay back, go ahead and stay back but we are going to Colombo to attend the Summit.  If you want to go to the corner of your office, stick your thumb in your mouth and sulk, that is your business.  Good luck!”

So he sent his emissary  Minister Deepak Obhrai to represent him and Canada.  And he was another disaster. Another embarrassment and angered the majority of the Sri Lankan-Sinhalese Canadians across Canada.  He acted like a High School Bully.

When asked by a Sri Lankan Official, not to lay a wreath for the Tamils who died for their Eelam cause at Elephant Pass, he was rude and did it anyway,  He said that it was a neutral spot where he laid the wreath.  He obviously didn’t do his homework nor did your High Commission in Colombo.  I had to point it out in a letter that Elephant Pass was the war theatre for three major battles between the Tamil Tigers and the SriLankan Armed Forces.  So he returns to Canada, meets the Tamil separatists in Toronto to tell them what he did for them.  Thus wanting them to return the favour by giving the Conservatives their vote. 

All this for a Tamil vote and sustaining the separatist Tamils in Canada by providing them with enough oxygen to continue their War from the Canadian Legislature Chambers, to claim their mono-ethnic, racist, separate Tamil State, Eelam.

So what are you going to do about it Mr. High Commissioner?  You know as well as I know and so does the other Canadian Foeign Affairs diplomats know, that although the Tamil Tigers were militarily defeated on the shores of the Nandikadal lagoon on the east coast in Sri Lanka on 19 May 2009, that war continues in the legislative chambers of the Federal, Provincial and City Councils in Canada.  All for the Tamil votes using the Tamil Genocide bogey which never happened,  Shame on  the  Canadian politicians who support the allegations of Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka  And that is the rub.

Let me share my last observations which has pained me for the past decade. Why three events in Sri Lanka have missed the radar of Canadian political bleeding hearts of Human rights.  This amazes me, which proves that we are not squeaky clean and  live a lie that we are a bunch of Goody-two-shoes.

1. When the world patted the back of Sri Lanka after she annihilated the ruthless Tamil Tiger terrorists on 19 May 2009, saying, Good Show, way to go Sri Lanka”, but Foreign Minister of Canada, Hon. Lawrence Cannon put out the most pathetic Press Release ignoring this classic event, when the world was fighting to eliminate terrorism, and Sri Lanka annahilated the ruthless Tamil Tiger terrorists after a 30-year long war almost single handed, Canada had nothing congratulatory to say to the Sri Lanka Government.  That was pathetic.  Why?  I smell a rat here, High Commissioner;

1. When by the end of the Tamil Tiger terrorist War  on 19, May 2009, the Sri Lankan soldiers rescued 295,873, Tamil refugees from the clutches of the Tamil Tigers, who marched them for 30 months from the west coast to the east  coast, like unwashed cattle as a human shield  under a scorching hot  Jaffna-Killinochchi sun, which was  a historic classic textbook event of a Human rescue from terrorists, This did not show up on the Canadian Government’s bleeding heart radar. Not a word of acknowledgement.  Sick! Why? I smell another stinky Canadian rat here!

    3.  The amazing humanitarian effort of preparing a million hearty breakfasts  lunches and dinners every day to feed the 295,873 Tamil refugees  housed in temporary camps, to keep them alive, missed the Canadian Government’s bleeding heart Radar, again.  Not a hum…not a word by the Canadian Government so  far  And especially  when the Sri Lankan soldiers, mainly Sinhalese were part of the army of cooks who prepared these million meals. each day.

          Not a word.. not a hum from Canadian Government  bleeding hearts  Why?  I  suspect one more stinky rat again.  This classic humanitarian event didn’t  show up in the Canadian  Government’s Bleeding Heart radar.

           All this shows that there is a lack of honesty in all these Canadian shenanigans on Sri Lanka’s war against the most ruthless Tamil terrorists  who perfected the suicide bodyt pack which was used to assassinate    India’s Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lanka’s President Ranasinghe Premadasa. 

            Why?

            Do you know why, High Commissioner David McKinnon?   I wish you would   share this information with me.  I have suspicions but I need  a confirmation  from someone with authority that I can trust.  I like to believe that you are  not a Nancy Stiles.  A Canadian diplomat that I could trust   I hope we will meet someday, somewhere when we can exchange our   views on these issues which needs answers. I am not a happy camper, the  first Sinhelese-Sri Lankan Canadian together with my colleague  Asoka Yapa who was fearless and dismissed the Tamil serparatist intimidation, and went on National TV’s  evening 6 o’clock News, on 4 August 1983, to defend the good name of our Motherland Sri Lanka.  By then she had been bashed to  pulp, kicked and spat at by these separatist Canadian-Tamils day in and  day out for eight long days in the print and audio-visual media.

Enough was enough.  We took them on  to let the Canadians know   our side of the story.  Since 4 August 1983, I have been singing –  ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the Liar of them all.’ ever since.

Sincerely, 
Asoka Weerasinghe (Mr.)

Laksiri Warnakula

Introduction

I am exhausted. It’s not just physical. It stems from my incapability to take in and digest all of what is written on paper and spoken about, almost everywhere. The incessant barrage of peoples’ howling and protesting, talking and reporting colourfully (pun intended) and ruefully on moronic deals, deeds and a plethora of other adventures by the ‘Diyawanna Oya Outfit’ has risen to a crescendo, which most likely has never been heard before. The number of people asking, arguing, criticising and writing in newspapers and other social media sites has reached heights never reached before.

And I am sure that most of them like myself are truly exhausted too by trying to take on this onslaught of the thoughts of a people, who are angry and utterly tired of being taken for a ride. 

The never-ending bedlam, cheating, corruption lies and many other vices, of the governors as well as the governed that have now become the general order of the day of the ‘Republic of Sri Lanka aka ‘A land like no other’.

So I thought of writing something different from the familiar and the typical and instead opting for a wee bit of atypical. Even though it addresses the same social and political drama of today, the approach is different, speckled with grains of humour and seeds of sarcasm. At least, yours truly hopes so.

I am going to limit my essay to a very few only, even though you could probably write a voluminous treatise on the subject, of the antics of our politicians of past and present-day packed to the brim at times, with highhandedness, stupidity, thievery and tomfoolery, all present in various proportions in their packages containing, supposedly sensible, sustainable and sound solutions, presented to a malnourished nation and its maltreated people.

Oxymora

Agree to disagree – A familiar habit of many of them

Deceptively honest – In my opinion, there are quite a few, who could be under this category

Disgustingly-delicious – What some of them say!

Honest thief – Can some of them be called as such?

Loyal opposition – Who on earth can this be? Well, we have seen them barking, snapping and screaming in our ‘Hall-of-Shame’ around ‘The Oya’ in many an occasion

Shrewd dumbness – Guess, who could easily answer the description

Silent scream – You can hear the people’s ‘silent scream’ as they write in the newspapers of today; And mostly about the despicable and deplorable behaviour of many of our politicians, their antics and unfathomable logic, which they apply to solve serious problems facing the nation

Unbiased opinion – Aren’t they good at giving it?

Wise fool – I am sure we have few amongst them. What do you think? Even though, they choose to be foolish more often than be wise!

There are many more. I chose the ones that are less common, yet suit the topic of my essay. It would be fun to think about who could fall into each of these, despite the fact that there are some, who would instantly come to your mind.

Note 1 – The word ‘oxymoron’ is of Greek origin.

Note 2 – The examples of ‘Oxymora’ given here have been taken from few sources; Merriam-Webster, the Cambridge English Dictionary, et al.

Laksiri Warnakula

Dr Sarath Obeysekera 

I was watching the greatest game ever last night.

After lifting the cup jubilant English players were holding the cup 

After holding the cup Champaign bottles were uncoked

I noted that two bearded Muslim players slowly and unnoticed creep away until Champaign is sprayed all over the players 

News.com .au of Australia published following already .

England World Cup stars Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were forced to flee the team’s wild celebrations immediately following the World Cup trophy presentation in a culture clash for the new world champions. 

Ali and Rashid bolted from the middle of the trophy podium moments after England captain Eoin Morgan raised the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy and confetti began to shoot from cannons alongside the champions” signage placed in front of the team.

As the team burst into cheers and flames exploded behind them, teammates were handed sponsored champagne bottles and a few short moments later began spraying them in all directions.

Dr Sarath Obeysekera 

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Yesterday we saw every element of good spirit , sense of responsibility , integrity , showing one’s courage in a fight until you live or die, how not to give up the task entrusted until last breath.

We can elaborate many such human qualities humans and animals have.

Two teams of nations with players predominantly with fair skin colour, showed us how to fight.

We were under the same race as a colony  for many many years .

They left our country after building much of the infrastructure we need, and also the bureaucracy to govern .

When they landed on our soil and walked into the resplendent interior of the country, they determined to plant coffee and tea in a difficult terrain  to earn money and spread their religion and culture to our people

We may condone what these nations did to us but we should learn one thing .

We should learn how to live with dignity and honestly and foster courage and endurance , 

We had few dark patches in our history after the Colonial Powers  retreated  who may have left some some scars  in our minds.

Latest incidents involving Muslim extremism should not hamper our determination to overcome the emotional -feeling and hatred . 

We should fight and play together.

Finally in yesterday’s game we have seen how losing team behaved in ,” a gentleman’s manner” .

But I felt sad about the Kiwis as they are also a gentle nation who have shown courage and patience       until the last breadth.

Leave-out racism aside what our leftists and some clergy practice for their own benefits.

Let us learn from this great game 

  Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own”. Bruce Lee

Dr Sarath Obeysekera

Sugath Samarasinghe

Being an ignoramus, I was neither for nor against this idea of Judicial Executions. Yet I have been reading most of the stuff that is being written mostly against the idea. I am stuck by the mostly pseudo intellectual arguments that is being written, I am wondering whether there is no other approach to this issue; and after reading the article the article of Dr. Nihal Jayawickrame in ‘The Island’ last Sunday, it was virtually like the last straw that broke the back of the camel! I thought I must respond to this pseudo intellectualism. For instance he asks whether it is proper for Buddhists to approve judicial killings. Now let us stop kidding. I think Dr. J is trying to pull wool over our eyes. It is true that it is more than 2000 years ago the first disciple of the Buddha took upon himself I shall not take life”. Does it mean that no Buddhist has ever killed anybody since then? Several Kings came to listen to and discuss Dhamma with the Buddha. Did he ever ask the kings not to execute criminals in their kingdoms, as it was the criminal justice system of the day, because that was contrary to what he preached? He left state craft to the kings, because it was not his business. He was one who left his kingdom in search of a truth which was beyond statecraft. In fact, among the Jataka Tales there is a story where he as a Bodhisthva king tried to mix criminal justice with Dhamma, messed up the whole system and was forced leave kingship to the jungles for meditation. So it is not necessary to re-discover wheel all over again. The two does not go together like cheese and cake. Thus, it is not necessary to misdirect ourselves with such false arguments.

Then there is another situation for us to learn from. We had an unending Terrorist ‘war’ running for thirty years. All these intellectuals both local and foreign, and of course the usual do gooders like the US , Canada, UK and Europeans, mostly one time colonialists, told us that it was an ‘unwinnable war’ and that the only way out was through negotiation. But when they had such problems like in Iraq, Libya of Syria they had no hesitation to using unethical and uncivilized means to achieve their targets. At last, a villager from the paddy fields of down South came up, he probably knew little English and may even have been originally a village thug (!). He said that is enough” and took on the Terrorists head on, and finished the matter! And now what? The hypocrites of the West are splitting their hairs, to send him to gallows for ‘war crimes’! And our intellectuals are with them. When the Terrorists were creating havoc here they were all in hiding, pontificating; they sent their children abroad for protection and education. Now that peace is restored, they preach that to rejoice the hard earned freedom is nothing but ‘triumphalism’, when the WWII victory is still being celebrated in the West. Isn’t this funny logic?

Now another villager who also knows little English and therefore his mind not cluttered with pseudo intellectualism, has come from the backwoods of Polonnaruwa (difficult to pronounce for Anglophiles of Colombo!), wants to hang some convicted drug dealers to see whether he could reduce the drug problem that is stalking this country, like Duterte of Philippines. Duterte told his detractors and Western critics Go to hell. I owe an explanation only to people of my country.” Such commonsense is abhorrent to these people.

This man, Maithripala, for whom 62 ½ lakhs of people had voted (though now we cannot find them!) has, let us admit, dealt the biggest damage on the Drug world here so far, and wants to see whether he could deal it a knockout blow if possible, may be as a political gambit. But is willing to go with it unlike any of his predecessors dared to, whether it is unethical or not according to conventional intellectual thinking of which he does not know. He, in his naivety, seems to think unprecedented problems need unprecedented solutions”. Why not let him have a go ahead and watch the outcome, especially since we too do not have a solution?

His detractors may say how could you play with other people’s life like that? But let us not forget that he is the President for whom 6 and a half million people voting directly, whether we like it or not now. Does he reflect the majority view of the people with whom sovereignty is said to lie? These intellectuals seem to equate their acquired views to be the view of the people. Isn’t this simple humbuggery? I am told that when the Daily Mirror carried out a public poll on this, 63% had voted for hanging.

Besides, look at the enormous extent of social devastation that the Drug menace is doing to this country. Why are these pseudo intellectuals not addressing this major aspect of the problem? How can one argue only looking at a single facet of this matter? Besides this, this menace is corrupting the entire Prison system. The day it will corrupt and intimidate the other limbs of the criminal justice system is not too far away. It is common knowledge that our political system has already become a victim of the Drug mafia. Is the Opposition Leader and the Prime Minister expecting financial support from the Drug lords at the coming elections?  Otherwise why cannot they not keep their gaps shut in this critical moment?

I am told that countries like Malaysia and Singapore have the death penalty for Drug dealers. And their drug problem seem to be contained. I also recall that when some Australian drug smugglers were to be hung in Malaysia some time ago, the Western detractors and Human Rights people appealed to that government, Malaysia’s reply was: Just respect our laws”. Why cannot we an independent country think like that? What is this backboneless servile thinking?

These intellectuals are horrified at the suggestion of bringing back capital punishment as inhuman and uncivilized. But thousands of people die on the roads due to driving like maniacs. So many hundreds are murdered daily in society, so many commit suicide. We have not seen concern expressed on all these tragedies and remedies suggested by these grandees. Then, who is concerned with the victims of these crimes. They and their families suffer in silence. There is no one to care for or bring solace to them. Also convictions in these cases is rare to come by. The slightest benefit of the doubt is given to the suspect. Trials are woefully delayed. Witnesses are intimidated and some die. While all this is happening around us, these pseudo intellectuals raise such a hue and cry when someone tries to do something decisive. I wonder whether they are genuinely concerned about human welfare. As far as I see, in this imperfect world there are no perfect answers to all these problems. Yet something has to be done, no doubt.

Some of them argue on the level of proof and judicial procedures. It is quite well known of the existing due process in operation. It is detailed as practically as possible to avoid a mistake by this fine comb procedure. The Sathasivam case is in fact an example where benefit of doubt was eventually given in favour of the accused. There are many other examples.

Then Dr. J has questioned the manner in which the President has selected the four persons to be hanged from among the drug offenders. As long as they are all drug offenders who are duly condemned to death, does it so much matter which one is taken first or second? I am told there is a convict who was held responsible for having Judge Ambepitiya who found him guilty, killed? For whose sake did that Judge do that? So what is the limit for ‘retributive justice’? Isn’t there some conclusion in these matters? Can good governance be maintained like that? We know of the grave situation prevailing in some Latin American countries like Columbia, Bolivia and Mexico where governance has become virtually impossible, that at a point no one was willing to become the IGP in Mexico. Things are bad here. But need we wait doing nothing till we come to that pass arguing whether death penalty is good or bad? Let some common sense prevail.

We are told by the Police Anti-Narcotics Bureau that this country is considered a soft target for drug trafficking because of the soft laws and corrupt politicians. This shows that unless someone takes a drastic step as this even as an experiment, we are doomed to eventually become a drug heaven.

Dr. J had ended his article in persuading the President to change his mind with the following quotation:

…execution of the death penalty as described by Professor Chris Barnard:

“The man’s spinal cord will rupture at the point where it enters the skull, electro-chemical discharges will send his limbs flailing in a grotesque dance, eyes and tongue will start from the facial apertures under the assault of the rope and his bowels and bladder may simultaneously void themselves to soil the legs and drip on the floor”.

I recall that a beautiful eighteen year school girl in Kayts Island was gang raped and killed in brought daylight that scandalized the entire nation. One accused had even videoed it to make money out of it by showing it in Switzerland. I would like to ask Dr. J whether this unfortunate girl would have felt much different when raped by five people and killed. Just imagine that such things happen in our midst in our country where we too live. How should we deal with it?

I am still not promoting judicial killing. But want to highlight the fact that this is not an open and shut matter where we could pontificate on right and wrong. Let some common sense also prevail.

Sugath Samarasinghe

Dr Sarath Obeysekera 

In colloquial sinhala we have words like Kamba horu, pal  horu, neelakasa horu, ali horu, Karawala horu , Ali baba Saha horu hathaliya, jaraa horu , and  may  be few more pseudonyms ,to name a few who are robbers.

When you read about the robbing which had taken place in Sri Lankan Air lines published in Sunday Paper today  and plethora of newspaper articles about Robbing the Central Bank , we Sri Lankan should start seriously think before we place of cross to elect next parliament and their leaders.

There was s news item sometime back when a girl trespassed into a coconut land and stole few coconuts because she did not have money to eat , the judge almost put her in the prison.

But the crooks who have stolen national wealth are freely roaming around .

When we heard about chief of staff of the head of the state and another head of a State Corporation being caught red handed when they were counting the loot ,  we remember the Sinhala saying wattath niyarath goyam ka man Kaata pawadami a Amaruwa

{ in a poor translation in means to whom can we complain when Paddy cultivation is consumed by the fence and bund which is supposed to be protecting it

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

When people get power, they always do mean, dishonest things. We shouldn’t allow anyone to have too much power.

Dr Sarath Obeysekera 

By Stephan Shemilt Courtesy  BBC Sport at Lord’s

CC Men’s Cricket World Cup final, Lord’s

New Zealand 241-8 (50 overs): Nicholls 55, Woakes 3-37, Plunkett 3-42

England 241 all out (50 overs): Stokes 84, Buttler 59, Neesham 3-43, Ferguson 3-50

England win after super over

Scorecard

England beat New Zealand to win the men’s World Cup for the first time after one of the most amazing games of cricket ever played was tied twice.

In an emotional and electric atmosphere at Lord’s, both sides scored 241 in their 50 overs and were level on 15 when they batted for an extra over apiece.

It meant England were crowned world champions by virtue of having scored more boundary fours and sixes – 26 to New Zealand’s 17 – in the entire match.

That it even got to that stage was astonishing in itself and came as a result of a barely believable conclusion at the home of cricket – the first tie in a World Cup final.

England required 15 from the last over of the regular match. Ben Stokes hit a six and then benefited when a throw from the deep hit his bat as he dived for ground and was inadvertently deflected for four overthrows.

He could not get the two needed from the last ball – Mark Wood was run out coming back for the second – but ended 84 not out and joined Jos Buttler for the super over.

In glorious evening sunshine, they were roared on by a febrile crowd that belted out Sweet Caroline in the change of innings.

When New Zealand replied, Jimmy Neesham hit Jofra Archer’s third ball for six, then scrambled to leave Martin Guptill needing two from the last delivery.

As Jason Roy’s throw came in from deep mid-wicket, a diving Guptill was short when Buttler removed the bails, sending England and the whole of Lord’s into delirious celebration.

• I never imagined World Cup win – Morgan
• NZ captain Williamson says final defeat ‘devastating’
• Reaction to dramatic World Cup final

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/48983890

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Jalani Premadasa, the wife of Sajith Premadasa on Saturday addressing and event said that she appeared before them as the first lady of future leader of the country.

The first Women’s Conference of the ‘Jathika Maha Sabha’ in Hatton was held at the D.K.W. Cultural Hall in Hatton on Saturday under the patronage of Mrs Premadasa.

I know that you would have to face to many problems, if all of you do not own a land. Even though I cannot give you a quick solution to this, I urge you that I have come in front of you as the first lady of the future leader Sajith Premadasa, who has expectations in your heart,” she said.

Although Minister Sajith Premadasa was unable to attend the event he and I are dedicated to serve the public and do a great service to the poor and the needy,” she said.

She said Sajith Premadasa was a leader who had not confined to the Minister post or to Colombo.
I promise that he would give a solution to your land issues,” she said.(Ranjith Rajapaksha)

Yohan Perera Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday said there were as many as 300 allegations against Minister Bathiudeen and a bulk of them were baseless. “The CID reports have cleared Mr. Bathiudeen,” the Prime Minister said.

After the Easter Sunday attacks there was an allegation that Minister Bathiudeen tried to influence the Army Commander into releasing the son of an acquaintance. However, the army chief later denied and said the minister did not attempt to influence him. The CID had sent a report on Mr. Bathiudeen to the Speaker,” he said addressing a public meeting in Kinniya to mark the opening a building for Kinniya Central College.   

He said instructions had been given to the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the Easter Sunday attacks and the CID to brief Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.  

Catholics have legitimate concerns about the investigation process. They are entitled to know whether investigations are being carried out properly or not,” he said.   

The CID has completed investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks and a report has been handed over to the Speaker. He had referred it to me and to the Parliamentary Select Committee probing the bomb attacks, the PM said.   

However some people have said they reject the CID reports. They have said they are not satisfied with the investigations that were being carried out with regards to former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen. The reports have cleared Mr. Bathiudeen when it comes to 300 complaints filed against him by various individuals.

However CID has submitted their investigation reports to the Attorney General and had wanted him to file legal action against some suspects. It is not advisable to reject these reports as lawyers for some of those facing charges will be able to argue that it is not possible to file legal action against their clients as certain persons have rejected the CID reports as lacking credibility, the PM added.  

The Prime Minister said all ethnic groups should be proud to be Sri Lankans. The Sinhalese will not lose anything by calling themselves Sri Lankans. Likewise Tamils and Muslims should first think of themselves as Sri Lankan before identifying with their respective ethnicities,” he said.(

Courtesy Adaderana

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike and her clan in the UNP will not be allowed to destroy the identity of the party, says Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

The minister stated this addressing the media following a religious event held at Kataragama Kiriwehera last evening (13).

Although Chandrika Bandaranaike is the organizer of Attanagalla electorate, she cannot even win her electorate and it is ridiculous to continue to work with such a person, the minister further said.

Responding to a question raised by a media person on the implementation of the death penalty, the minister said the UNP including himself is against this decision. The death penalty is inappropriate for a country like Sri Lanka, he added.

Courtesy Adaderana

The proposal with the recommendations to amend the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act will be presented to the Minister of Justice and Prison Reforms Thalatha Atukorale tomorrow (15), stated MP A. H. M. Fowzie.

The Muslim parliamentarian recently held a meeting to discuss the amendment of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act.

The proposal contains 11 amendments to the Act including the legal age for a Muslim marriage.

The amendments include:

-The age of marriage for both the bride and the groom should be 18 years
-The bride should sign the Register of Marriage as a sign of her consent
-Upgrade the required qualification of a Kadi to Attorney-at-Law
-Permit female Kadis (women who will adjudicate family law of Muslims)

The draft bill, which contains the relevant proposals, is to be tabled at the parliament after gaining the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers.

Courtesy Adaderana

State Intelligence Officers including the Head of the State Intelligence Service should not be revealed through media, says the Leader of the opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa.

He expressed these views speaking to journalists in Colombo, today (14).

A group of women who sell flowers near the Mihintale sacred sites called on the Opposition Leader today.

They informed Rajapaksa on a decision taken to remove their stalls from the area.

The Opposition Leader then responded to the questions posed by media personnel.

By C. A. Chandraprema Courtesy The Island

The controversy over the involvement of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Sri Lanka has now come to a head. MCC was created in the early years of the new millennium by the Bush Administration as an aid distribution programme for developing countries that are inclined to ‘govern justly, invest in their people and encourage economic freedom’. The formation of the new body was in recognition of the fact that the US development assistance programmes, which existed at the time, had consistently failed to meet their stated goals. Despite decades of economic aid, most recipients are poorer now than they were before first receiving development assistance. From 1980 to 2000, the United States had disbursed $167 billion in aid to 156 developing countries; but among the 97 countries for which reliable economic data for that period are available, median per capita gross domestic product (GDP) had declined from $ 1,076 in 1980 to $ 994 in 2000!  The MCC is thus supposed to be an experimental programme that seeks to explore new strategies to improve the effectiveness of development assistance programmes.

We now have the honour of being one of the guinea pigs testing out the efficacy of the aid programmes of MCC. One complicating factor is that the American aid organisation will be investing only USD 480 million in Sri Lanka in a situation where the government’s foreign borrowing through sovereign bonds during the first half of this year alone was USD 4.5 billion. With a government that has borrowed not tens of millions but tens of billion of US Dollars during a period of three or four years, a grant of 480 million is too small even to register on the scale. At the time the Millennium Challenge Corporation was created in the early years of this millennium, 300 or 400 million USD was considered a colossal amount of money in Sri Lanka.

The pledge of a concessionary loan from China of USD 300 million to build the first phase of the Norochchcolai power plant during the last years of the Chandrika Kumaratunga government was welcomed at that time as a major breakthrough. Since that time, much water has flown under the bridge and Sri Lanka has moved from being a low income country to an upper middle income country and the government that came into power in January 2015 commenced an era of mega foreign borrowings to pay for the election related government expenditure they incurred to win the 2015 August Parliamentary election. A grant of 480 million USD would have been a significant aid package during the Rajapaksa government. The present government would borrow 480 million USD in a single afternoon through the issue of Sri Lanka Development Bonds.   

According to MCC criteria, countries must qualify as low income or lower middle income countries according to the World Bank’s classification in order to be eligible for MCC grants. On the 1st of July this year, the World Bank classified Sri Lanka as an upper middle income country with a per capita income in excess of $ 3,895. However, by that time the MCC grant for Sri Lanka had already been passed and in any event according to MCC criteria, when a country’s classification changes, it wil retain its former classification for a further two years.   

Veil of secrecy over MCC project

As with everything else, the controversy over the MCC project is largely due to the lack of transparency in the doings of the government. Ironically, the MCC in selecting partner countries, uses an indicator that measures a country’s commitment among other things, to the freedom of information. Yet the very thing that is missing about the agreement that has been entered into by this government and the MCC is information! One would think that when the Opposition and members of the general public begin to voice misgivings about a deal that the government has struck with some foreign party, the first thing any government should do is to immediately launch a programme to explain to the public what the deal is about and how it is supposed to benefit Sri Lanka.

The controversy over the MCC has now been at the forefront of political discourse for months but the government has done nothing to enlighten the public the benefits that it is supposed to bestow on Sri Lanka. As of now, all that the public knows is that the USA will be giving Sri Lanka a grant of $480 million to carry out the work involved. This grant was the ‘silver lining’ that Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera Mangala saw in the dark cloud that covered Sri Lanka after the Easter Sunday bombings. All that the public knows about this project is the limited information that is available on the MCC website. What the website says is that MCC seeks to assist the Sri Lanka Government in addressing two of the country’s binding constraints to economic growth, namely, inadequate transport logistics infrastructure and planning; and lack of access to land for agriculture, the services sector, and industrial investors.

The MCC website further states that the Transport Project aims to increase the relative efficiency and capacity of the road network and bus system in the Colombo Metropolitan Region and to reduce the cost of transporting passengers and goods between the central region of the country and ports and markets in the rest of the country. The stated goal of the Land Project is to increase the availability of information on private land and underutilized state lands or all land in Sri Lanka to which the government is lawfully entitled or which may be disposed of by the government, in order to increase land market activity. The MCC Land Project is supposed increase tenure security and tradability of land for smallholders, women, and firms through policy and legal reforms. The picture that the public has of the transport project is that a road transport corridor is to be set up between the ports of Colombo and Trincomalee with the Americans having an interest in the port of Trincomalee.

Neither the government nor the MCC has published anything that would enlighten the public any further. Even though money has been allocated for this project, nobody has seen a proper project description or a diagram of how that effect is to be achieved. While the Mahaweli project was being built, everybody knew what was being built and where. If the ‘efficiency and capacity of the road network and bus system in the Colombo Metropolitan Region’ was to be improved and ‘the cost of transporting passengers and goods between the central region of the country and ports and markets in the rest of the country’ was to be reduced, that would give the government a much-needed boost and one would think that they would have turned this into one of their main trumps in their re-election bid as well. Yet the government has been inexplicably secretive about the whole MCC project. The government’s silence on what exactly is going to be done under this project is what is fuelling speculation and suspicion.

If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

The goal of the Land Project has been explicitly stated as seeking to increase the availability of information on private land and underutilized state lands or all land in Sri Lanka to which the government is lawfully entitled or which may be disposed of by the government. The aim was to increase land market activity. The Land Project is supposed to increase tenure security and tradability of land for smallholders, women, and firms. The target clearly is state owned land. In Sri Lanka, we have freehold properties that belong to individuals or companies and then there is state owned land a portion of which is utilized directly by the government and a portion which remains allocated for other purposes of the republic such as forest reserves and the like and another potion of state land is held by the public under lease or licencing arrangements.

It is obviously the latter that the MCC is targeting. Even though such state owned lands have been alienated to individuals under licensing or long term lease arrangements, the tenants on these lands enjoy security of tenure because the government will not simply kick them off the land if it is cultivated and used productively. The lease holder or lisencee will be adequately compensated before the government takes back a state land which has been given to private individuals for farming or other purposes. We almost never hear of even the smallest of smallholders being unreasonably evicted from state owned land that had been leased or given to them on a license by the state. Furthermore, the state owned land given out to individuals can change hands and be sold. There is a separate market for leasehold or licenced land holdings with the price being somewhat lower than in the case of freehold land.

Such land can also be passed down from generation to generation provided the land had been utilized productively. When the  Department of Rural Development and Land Reform in South Africa proposed an overhaul of the country’s land holding system, what they proposed was that state land be under lease-hold and private land be under freehold with limited extent while foreign ownership should be linked to productivity and partnership models with South African citizens. That is much like the system that prevails in Sri Lanka at present. If something is not broken, why try to mend it? Admittedly, recipients of state owned land on lease will face issues when trying to raise money from banks with the land pledged as surety. Banks prefer freehold land. Only the high value customers with a proven track record would stand a chance of being able to raise money by pledgeing a lease on a state owned land as surety. In such an environment, startups would have little or no chance.

However, one would think that this was a problem that had to be dealt with at the level of the banks instead of trying to give leaseholders freehold tenure. If leaseholds on state land can be bought and sold between citizens of Sri Lanka and their only problem is the inability to use that lease as collateral, the answer to that can’t be the wholesale transformation of such lands into freehold tenures. There is besides, the well-founded fear that if state owned lands which are at present farmed by individuals on leasehold or lisencing arrangements are turned into freehold properties, it will not be long before unscrupulous elements lay their hands on these lands creating a landless rural population.

The fact that the land is owned by the state discourages fragmentation of the land and strategic buying up of cheap land by organized parties as what happened in Palestine before the creation of Israel. In a country like ours, this is a paramount consideration when discussing land policy. In this country, even a leasehold land has a monetary value which is below the value of a similar freehold property and the banks should be encouraged to lend to leaseholders at least to the extent of the reduced value of the land without turning away leaseholders wholesale. When we look at the Land Rights and Access indicator of the MCC we see that the kind of land reform that they have in mind would be applicable to countries in sub-Saharan Africa which don’t even have governments worth the name rather than countries like ours.

The MCC’s Access to Land indicator assesses the extent to which the institutional and legal framework provides secure land tenure and equitable access to land in rural areas. They look at the extent to which the law guarantees secure tenure for land rights of the poor; the extent to which the law guarantees secure land rights for women and other vulnerable groups; the extent to which land is titled and registered etc. Sri Lanka has no major issues with regard to any of those benchmarks. The MCC also looks at how long it takes to register property and the time taken to transfer the property title from the seller to the buyer so that the buyer can use the title for expanding business, as collateral in taking new loans, or, if necessary, to sell to another business. Sri Lanka does not have any major issues with regard to such matters either.

The MCC also looks at the cost to register property as a percentage of the value of the property. The latter is one area where vast improvement is needed in Sri Lanka not because of the cost in registering the land per se, but in the duties charged by our exploitative government on land transactions which drives up the transaction cost. That however is a matter that only the Sri Lankan government can address. The exorbitant duties charged on land transactions goes for the maintenance of the white elephants known as the provincial councils. Most people doing land transactions would have found that the provincial council does not necessarily accept the cost of the land as stated on the deed but they do a valuation on their own and the tax that has to be paid is calculated on the basis of that estimated value. The only genuine problem that Sri Lankans have with regard to land tenure and other issues is the exploitative attitude of the government which seeks to make a killing off land transactions.  

The MCC states that secure land tenure gives people long-term incentives to invest and to use land as collateral for loans. Sri Lanka’s rand reform laws enacted in the 1970s was instrumental in fixing a ceiling on land ownership. According to the Land Reform Laws No:1 of 1972 and No: 39 of 1975 brought by the then SLFP government, the maximum extent of agricultural land which may be owned by any person, was twenty-five acres of paddy land and fifty acres of other agricultural land. There have been strident calls for the abolition of this ceiling in order to encourage commercial agriculture. That too is not something that would require the intervention of a foreign donor organization.

Cloak and dagger development work

The MCC, which uses an indicator that measures a country’s commitment to the freedom of information in order to qualify for a programme, has been very reticent with information on what exactly it is doing in Sri Lanka. The MCC freedom of information indicator measures a government’s commitment to enable or allow information to move freely in society. This indicator is based on the degree of press freedom; the status of national freedom of information laws; and a measure of internet filtering. The MCC website even has a lecture on how information flows relate to growth and poverty reduction. The following is what the MCC says about the importance of free information flows:

“Governments play a role in information flows; they can restrict or facilitate information flows within countries or across borders. Many of the institutions (laws, regulations, codes of conduct) that governments design are created to manage the flow of information in an economy. Countries with better information flows often have better quality governance and less corruption. Higher transparency and access to information have been shown to increase investment inflows …”

The MCC uses several indicators to measure a country’s eligibility for grants including the freedom of information mentioned earlier. Among the other indicators are the following:  Ruling Justly – prevalence of free and fair electoral processes; political pluralism and participation of all stakeholders; government accountability and transparency; freedom from domination by the military, foreign powers(!), totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies and economic oligarchies; and the political rights of minority groups. Civil Liberties – freedom of expression and belief; association and organizational rights; rule of law and human rights; and personal autonomy and economic rights.

Government Effectiveness – the quality of public service provision; civil servants’ competency and independence from political pressures; and the government’s ability to plan and implement sound policies, among other things. Rule of Law – the extent to which, the public has confidence in and abides by the rules of society; the incidence and impact of violent and non-violent crime; the effectiveness, independence, and predictability of the judiciary; the protection of property rights; and the enforceability of contracts. Control of Corruption – “Grand corruption” in the political arena; the frequency of petty corruption; the effects of corruption on the business environment; and the tendency of elites to engage in “state capture,” among other things. 

There are also some economic indicators such as the following: Fiscal Policy – government borrowing as a percent of the GDP averaged over a three year period. Inflation – The most recent average annual change in consumer prices. Regulatory Quality – the burden of regulations on business; price controls; the government’s role in the economy; and foreign investment regulation. Trade Policy – openness to international trade based on average tariff rates and non-tariff barriers to trade.

Land Rights and Access – the institutional, legal, and market framework to provide secure land tenure and equitable access to land in rural areas and the time and cost of property registration in urban and peri-urban areas.

According to Sri Lanka’s scorecard for 2019 published on the MCC website, Sri Lanka has passed the tests for Political Rights, Civil Liberties, Control of Corruption (!!), Government Effectiveness (!!!) and the Rule of Law. SL has failed the tests for the Freedom of Information (which is not surprising given how little information there is about what MCC is doing in Sri Lanka.) When it comes to the economic indicators, SL has passed the tests for Inflation, Regulatory Quality, Trade Policy, Business Start-Up, but failed on Fiscal Policy, Land Rights and Access to Credit.

The Editorial on  Monday 15th July, 2019 Courtesy The Island

Opposition Leader and former President Mahinda Rajapaska has taken up cudgels for the working class. He has warned of a government move to rob the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) by removing the Central Bank (CB) from the purview of the Ministry of Finance. A bill has been prepared to amend the Finance Act for that purpose, he says.

That the incumbent government is trying to dip into the 2.5-trillion-rupee superannuation fund is no secret. First, it sought to separate the EPF from the CB, but in vain. True, there is a conflict of interest on the part of the CB, which is tasked with raising funds for the state coffers at the lowest possible interest rates while trying to get the highest possible interest rates for the EPF, whose monies are mostly invested in government securities. But what matters most is the efficient administration and the safety of the EPF. The CB is one of the few professionally run state institutions. But for the intrepid whistleblowers among the CB officials, the bond scams which had a devastating impact on the EPF among others perhaps would not have come to light.

As for the EPF, successive governments have been behaving like greedy canines near a meat stall. Given half a chance they will rob workers’ savings. The Rajapaksa government was also salivating over the EPF. It sought to introduce a private sector pension scheme, which, on the face of it, looked a pro-worker move. But if it had been implemented, workers, upon retirement, would have had to settle for paltry sums a month by way of pensions; they would have been denied the right to lump sum withdrawals, which can be deposited with banks or other financial institutions, which offer much higher interest rates. When President Rajapaksa proposed that pension scheme through a national budget, we argued, in this space, that it would lead to disaster. Thousands of FTZ workers took to the streets in 2011, when an attempt was made to force the private pension scheme down their throats, and a brutal crackdown on protests left a worker dead.

EPF returns have since dipped to 9.5 percent! If governments and their leaders are really concerned about the private sector workers’ savings, they should do away with the extortionate taxes amounting to billions of rupees on the EPF. Trade unions are either really dumb or playing dumb. They are not fighting against the draconian tax system. Many private sector workers are taxed several times over. They have to pay the PAYE tax on their monthly earnings including their EPF contributions. Their savings in their superannuation fund are taxed again. Their lump sum withdrawals are also taxed. When their savings are deposited with banks, etc., they are made to pay withholding and other taxes. Trade union leaders are busy licking the boots and sandals of their political leaders and, frustratingly, workers also do not care to fight for their rights.

Those who are in power today alleged, before the 2015 regime change, that the EPF had been a victim of sordid pump and dump operations carried out by some moneybags close to the former ruling clan. They promised to probe the scams and bring the culprits to justice. Instead, they themselves got involved in bond scams, and the pump and dump racketeers who caused heavy losses to the EPF got away with their crimes.

President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed various probe commissions and committees; some of them have yielded discernible results. The bond probe commission is a case in point. The PRECIFAC also helped expose malpractices under the previous dispensation, but the promised action has not been taken against the culprits because the President and some members of the former regime have kissed and made up.

Private sector workers and their trade unions must call for a special commission of inquiry to probe the EPF and the losses it has suffered. They must not leave the fight for their rights to wily politicians who shed copious tears for them.

By  Rohana R. Wasala

It would probably not be an exaggeration to say that more outrage was expressed by interested parties at an incidental comment made by the Most Venerable Warakagoga Gnanarathana, the Mahanayake Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter, during an anusasanawa (homily) than at the April 21 Easter Sunday suicide bombings by Wahhabi Islamists. He was presiding over a religious event conducted at the Dodamwela Diyakelinawela Kitsirimewan Raja Maha Viharaya on June 15, 2019. The social and printed media were immediately awash with condemnations of the senior monk’s remarks taken out of their context. They tried to stress the monk’s alleged pro-Sinhalese Buddhist extremism and his anti-Muslim hatred. They have decided that the Mahanayake Thera has committed an offence that is worse than what the Islamist suicide bomber Saharan did and what the doctor at Kurunegala hospital is accused of having done, put together.

An Indian website (The Wire) reported that hundreds of Muslim refugees fled Negambo as communal tensions flared up, following the Mahanayake Thera’s speech (Since no Sri Lankan source confirmed it, this could very well be a fabrication). The same website quoted  Mangala Samaraweera, minister of finance, as having stated that ‘true Buddhists’ should unite against the ‘Talibanization’ of the religion. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu of the NGO known as the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) lodged a complaint with the Acting Inspector General of Police C.D. Wickremaratne against the monk, wanting him to be arrested for allegedly saying, according to Saravanamuttu’s interpretation, that a certain Muslim doctor should be stoned to death for the crime of having surreptitiously sterilized a large number of Sinhalese mothers without their prior knowledge and consent by restricting the fallopian tube during cesarean section operations that he had  performed at a hospital in Kurunegala. (The problem is that this racist NGO Tamil with no following even among his own people refuses to recognise the gravity of the allegations against the doctor.) The CPA also made a complaint to the UNHCR High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet, who, in an immediate response during her address to the organization’s 41st Session, has expressed concern about statements made by ‘certain religious leaders advocating violence’. The Dalai Lama (obviously fed with false news from similarly biased sources) has condemned the Asgiriya Prelate’s alleged comment without reservations, and his criticism is likely to have a negative impact even on Buddhist opinion around the world regarding the senior Sri Lankan monk’s random remarks and more importantly, on their impressions about inter-communal  and interreligious relations in Sri Lanka, which, in reality, remain quite healthy. The case represents one tragic aspect of Sri Lankans’ present sorry plight. They are reported on by local and global media that don’t or pretend not to, understand them or their problems, or their different ethnic identities; most unfortunate of all is their deliberate oversight of the real existential threats that Sri Lankans as a nation are actually facing.

Part of the problem is the fact that only a person who knows the subtly expressive Sinhala colloquial idiom well and is familiar with the sort of speech context in which the words were uttered can be expected to understand what the monk really said without misconstruing his meaning. Non-Sinhala speakers who depend on translations (often distorted) naturally miss out what the speaker left unsaid to be inferred by the immediate listeners. The different English translations I saw in the media deliberately misinterpret the passionate  but peaceful message of the monk. The occasion for such misreporting arises from these monks’ own remissness in being careful about their language, particularly at a time like this. The language they habitually use could convey unintended meanings to those unfamiliar with their idiom.  

In Saravanamuttu’s complaint, the Mahanayake Thera is reported to have spoken these words in a ‘sermon’ implying that he preached violence. An ‘anusasanawa’ is not a sermon, but an informal homily that suits the occasion. By that mistranslation, the NGO activist was probably implying that the Thera was giving a religious imprimatur for the violent actions he mentioned in his casual remarks to be actually carried out  (though ethnically Tamil Saravanamuttu knows that Indian religions do not advocate violence on any grounds); of course, it is possible that the error is due to his ignorance of the real meaning of the Sinhala term ‘anusasanawa’.

 Like on a previous occasion that involved the Ven. Anunayake Thera of the same Asgiriya Chapter in a similar, but more private context, who became a target for attack as an advocate of Hitlerism, a regrettable  verbal faux pas has led to this present furore among anti-nationalist forces over alleged racism and religious intolerance led by Buddhist monks against Muslims. In each situation, the speaker narrowly focused on the audience before him and failed to take into account the public outside of that context, much less the global community waiting to condemn the Sinhalese Buddhist majority on the slightest pretext that emerges for them to denounce their alleged racist  and religious extremism against minorities.

 In reality though, the monk’s controversial remarks were partly meant to let the steam off among the Sinhala community shocked by  the genocidal implications of forced sterilization allegations raised against a Muslim doctor in a Kurunegala hospital by the name of Shafi Shihabdeen. These sterilizing allegations, along with some similar earlier allegations made in different unrelated contexts, have been pooh-poohed by government authorities, but are claimed to be supported with evidence by non-political activists  including an internationally recognized medical science professor. The government could have easily allayed people’s fears by having these allegations duly investigated in a credible transparent manner. But, going by media reports, this does not seem to be yet happening. Hence, there is no let up in the societal tension that has been created by the uninvestigated complaints against the doctor. 

The Lanka C News online journal in an exclusive news report (July 4, 2019) said that an internal investigation conducted by the Kurunegala hospital has confirmed the sterilization and other allegations such as illegal LRT surgeries done without the consent of the mother or father raised against the Muslim doctor. The same source carries another report where it is said that the Police CID has informed the Defence Secretary that since no evidence at all has been found to show that the doctor is a member of the National Thawheed Jamat (NTJ) or of any other terrorist group, it is not justifiable to detain him any longer. Young activist Professor Channa Jayasumana who features in the first report (i.e., the one about the investigation done by the Kurunegala hospital) has placed the authentic information that he has before the public. However, it is usual these days for patriotic monks and lay activists to be branded as racists and extremists by inimical anti-nationalist agents, who equate nationalism with racism for their convenience. 

It is against this background that UPFA MP of the Joint Opposition Romesh Pathirana, himself a doctor, urged in Parliament (July 11) that an epidemiological and statistical study be conducted in response to these allegations. Over 1000 complaints received against Dr Shafi after 4,732 caesarean section operations done by him suggest that about 25% of the mothers he had operated on could have developed secondary subfertility. This figure is unusually high when compared to the world average of 10%, MP Pathirana pointed out. Meanwhile, the Sinhala daily ‘Divaina’ (July 12) reported that the Kurunegala magistrate (July 11) ordered the Dean of the Colombo University Medical Faculty to provide suitable recommendations on the correct methodology to be adopted in holding the HSG (Histerosalpinogram) Test for Blocked Fallopian Tubes through a committee comprising five professors of the faculty. All this reflects the seriousness of the sterilization allegations that was one factor that coloured the mental preoccupations of the senior monk and his audience in that particular context.

 As reported in the online Lanka C News (July 3, 2019), at a special press gathering held at Kirulapane Bodhi Bauddha Mandiraya a day before, Ven Galaboda-Aththe Gnanasara Thera, leader of the Bodu Bala Sena, revealed where in reality racism and extremism exist. He illustrated his point by having a 38 year old Muslim woman from Bandaragama Atalugama named Abdul Hasat Fatima Haifa who is married to a Sinhalese Buddhist man explain to the media the ordeal that she and her two children aged 11 and 7 were subjected to by her parents’ family and her Muslim neighbours in their hundreds for marrying a Sinhalese Buddhist man. They allegedly pushed the mother and her children along the road to the police station, she claimed. She blamed the Bandaragama police officers for failing to do enough to protect them from assault and harassment by Muslim men. The Thera stated that every man and woman must have the right to marry any person (of their choice) belonging to any race or religion. This, he stressed, should hold for Muslim women as well. The press briefing was prior to the BBS convention which was to be held in Kandy on July 7, 2019. 

A number of other individual monk and lay activists and groups have done a lot of work to expose the growing Wahhabist scourge in Sri Lanka and to alert the authorities, but, to date, in vain. A well known young activist named Amith Weerasinghe, who was jailed in connection with the incidents at Kundasale that took place about a year ago is reported to be on conditional bail. He headed an organization, now banned, that he claims had a membership that comprised some 273,000 young men and women. (This fact alone makes him an invaluable potential asset to politicians. But he vows he will have no truck with them; he says they have shown no genuine concern with the Islamist problem that he has been trying to raise public awareness of.) He had gathered a lot of information about the clandestine activities of Islamic extremists; he also had reported to the authorities a Muslim-owned pharmacy in the neighbourhood of Kandy with a number of outlets in other places that sells expired drugs, though without success. Weerasinghe is 28 years old, married, with two children. He has twenty-five cases pending against him, all filed against him in the course of his work for the nation done without any ulterior motives and against Islamic extremism, as he claims. 

Ven. Ampitiye Sumanaratana Thera (50) is known as ‘Madakalapuwe Hamuduruwo’, a hero, who is an intrepid campaigner constantly threatened with assassination by Islamists, but he provides refuge to poor people of all three communities, while  living among a community that is being terrorised by extremists where he often berates publicly some of the government employees there including some police officers for failing in their duty by the people. During the war, this monk looked after wounded LTTE cadres as well as wounded SL army soldiers brought to his temple for help, he claims. The biased media have projected him as a violent monk. He is not. Only his speech is violent, and that is directed at errant government officers, who, he alleges, are guilty of dereliction of duty under the influence of Wahhabists enriched by oodles of petro-dollars coming from their sponsors in the oil-rich middle-east. Ven. Sumanaratana has been able to do a lot of work for the dispossessed Sinhalese minority suffering discrimination even at the hands of certain corrupt government officials at the beck and call of Islamic extremists who oil their palms. The monk performs his service with the help of donations received from patriots working abroad. He does not exclude the poor of other communities in that impoverished corner of eastern Sri Lanka, which is covered with ruins of the island’s ancient Buddhist civilization (The deliberate destruction of archaeological evidence of Sinhalese Buddhist history in the eastern and northern provinces has gone on for decades).

At a mass rally held at Nugegoda on July 4 by the National Movement against Wahabi Extremism, Ven. Professor Medagoda Abhayatissa Thera made a startling revelation. It was that more than twenty people had been executed under the sharia law in Kattankudy in the eastern province for various alleged offences including leaving Islam and being a member of the government army. Another instance when the problem of Islamic extremism was raised was when Ven. Athuraliye Ratana Thera MP said, during a heated exchange with a Muslim MP in parliament (July 10), that Wahhabi extremists have prohibited education for girls in the same area, thereby violating their basic human rights. Both monks claim that they have verifiable information to support their complaints.  

The Bodu Bala Sena Convention that took place in Kandy on July 7, 2019 was for ensuring the survival of Sri Lanka as a single sovereign state, where the various majorities and minorities can live in peace and harmony as equal citizens without mutual discrimination on any grounds, under one common law. The key to that ideal is the time honoured Buddhist cultural foundation of the country. It is an inclusive accommodating culture most compatible with secular democratic governance. One of the immediate threats to the nation built on that cultural foundation is the scourge of Wahhabist Islamic extremism, which is apparently being used as a smokescreen by Western imperialists to conceal their secret operations for destabilizing and ultimately destroying Sri Lanka in pursuit of their own selfish geopolitical ends.  The passionate sentiments that the Most Venerable Asgiriya Mahanayake Thera expressed were intended to caution the whole nation to that wolf at the door. 

The proposal for the democratic restoration  of the Sinhala Buddhist State that was ceded to Britain in 1815 through the so-called Kandyan Convention (actually through intrigue) should be seen as a natural reaction to aggressive attempts by external and internal forces to destroy the Sinhalese as a sovereign nation both politically and culturally. Buddhist  monks cannot look on passively until such an eventuality takes place. They have been the Guardians of the land of the Sinhalese, the Sinhala language and the Buddhasasanaya from the time of King Devanampiyatissa of Anuradhapura (307-267 BCE). The monks always protected and guided the Sinhalese kingdom in their own righteous way. They were above the king, who paid obeisance to them. They never advocated violence in any form, but they were not averse to even fighting as soldiers, when it was found unavoidable in countering invasions (For example, King Dhatusena of the 5th century CE was a monk before he led the country to victory against invaders; King Senerath of Kandy of the early 17th CE was also a monk before assuming kingship and he too led operations against foreign occupiers; both of these monks turned monarchs were trained warriors. It was King Senerath who settled Muslims persecuted by the Dutch in Baticaloa. There were no Muslim settlements in that part of the Sinhale kingdom before. What is happening today is a historical irony.)

(Genuine Buddhist monks whether mentioned or not mentioned in this essay are representative members of the Maha Sangha {Community}. They symbolise nonviolence, renunciation and victory over samsaric suffering. In terms of Christian symbolism, they are Lambs. The Lamb of God symbolises the identical virtues of innocence, self sacrifice and ultimate triumph. Hence the title of this article. With apologies to Christian readers. I beg that you don’t take offence.)

 lanka C news

මුස්ලිම් ජාතිකයන් වෙනුවෙන් ස්ථාපිතකර ඇති කාති උසාවි මගින් පිරිමි පක්ෂයට පක්ෂපාතී වන ලෙස නඩු තීන්දු ලබා දෙන බව ඌව පරණගම ප්‍රදේශයේ පදිංචිකාරිනියක් වන මුස්ලිම් ජාතික අබ්දුල් හසීනා නම් කතාව චෝදනා කරයි.

මෙම උසාවිය තීන්දු නිසා කාන්තාවන් බහුතරයක් දරුවන් සමග මහමගට ඇද වැටී ඇතැයි ද ඇය කියා සිටියාය.

ඇය මෙම විසින් හෙළිදරව් කරන ලද්දේ තම පියාද සමග දිය නිවසේදී මාධ්‍ය හමුවක් 

 lanka C news

අනාගත නායක සජිත් පේ‍්‍රමදාස මහතාගේ ආර්යාව තමන් බව ඇමති සජිත් පේ‍්‍රමදාස මහතාගේ බිරිද වන ජලනි පේ‍්‍රමදාස මහත්මිය පවසයි.

ඇය මේ බව කියා සිටියේ හැටන්හිදී පැවති ජාතික මහ සභාවේ හැටන් කලාපයේ පළමු කාන්තා සම්මේලනයේ ප‍්‍රධාන ආරාධිතයා ලෙස සහභාගී වෙමිනි.

ඇය එහිදී මෙසේද කීවාය.

‘ඔබ ඉදිරියට අද ඇවිත් තියෙන්නේ ඔබ ආදරේ කරන, ඔබේ හදවතේ බලාපොරොත්තු ඇති කරගෙන තිබෙන, අනාගත නායක සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මැතිතුමාගේ ආර්යාව හැටියටයි මේ ස්ථානයට.

සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස මැතිතුමාගේ අනාගතය පිළිබඳව ඔබ සියලු දෙනාට විශාල බලාපොරොත්තු රාශියක් තිබෙනවා.

සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස ඇමතිතුමා කියන්නේ ඇමතිකමකට සීමා නොවී, කොළඹට පමණක් සීමා නොවී, මහජනතාවත් සමඟ එකතුවෙලා මහජනතාවත් සමඟ සිටින නායකයෙක්.

ඔබ සියලු දෙනාගේ මේ ඉඩම් ප්‍රශ්නයට එතුමා අනිවාර්යයෙන්ම ඔබ සියලු දෙනාටම විසඳුමක් ලබාදෙන බවට මම පොරොන්දු වෙනවා.

සජිත් ප්‍රේමදාස ඇමතිතුමා කියන්නේ වචනයට පමණක් සීමා වෙච්චි නායකයෙක් නෙවෙයි.

ඒ ජනතා සේවකයා ඔබ සියලු දෙනාගෙන් මා ඉල්ලා සිටින්නේ එතුමාව ආරක්ෂා කරගන්න එතුමාව බලාගන්න එතුමාට ඔබ සියලු දෙනාට දිය හැකි උපරිම සහයෝගය දෙන්න කියලා’

Courtesy Adaderana

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka says that UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa always fulfills the needs of the President and supports his statements.
 
The UNP Parliamentarian also said that if the incumbent Prime Minister does not stand for candidacy at the upcoming presidential election and if the alternative candidate is not an individual who can contribute to the country, he is opposed to that.

Responding to a question from reporters regarding the implementation of the death penalty, the former Army Commander said that an attempt is being made to hang certain prisoners with the intention of gaining votes.

He said the UNP’s stance is against the death penalty and that they stick by that stance. However, he said that party’s deputy leader Minister Sajith Premadasa always fulfills the needs of the President and approves of his statements.

Fonseka was referring to Premadasa’s recent comments in support of the President’s decision to implement the death penalty against certain convicted drug traffickers.

He also said that before the government was toppled for 51 days, Premadsa had said that the UNP is indebted to the President and after the constitutional crisis ended he commended the President for safeguarding democracy

Courtesy Adaderana

Chairman of the ‘Protect Sri Lanka’ national movement Ven. Pahiyangala Ananda Sagara Thero today handed over a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office against an alleged attempt to transfer an elephant calf from the Ridiyagama safari park to private custody, due to political interests.  

The Thero arrived at Temple Trees and somewhat forced his way through the security at the PM’s Office in anger after being told to use a different entrance, resulting in a brief tense situation.

He then returned after handing over the letter, seeking to block an alleged illegal attempt to transfer the elephant calf ‘Isira’ from the park to private custody through political involvement. 

Speaking to reporters outside Temple Trees, Ananda Sagara Thero stated that they have received information that two government ministers are preparing to offer an elephant calf, who is roaming freely in the wild, to the custody of the Kataragama Devalaya, to allegedly ward off the Prime Minister’s bad luck”.

He said the elephant calf is very young and still suckling and that he does not approve of that innocent animal being used for the purpose of being anointed for the presidential election.

The Thero accused Ministers Gamini Jayawickrama Perera and John Amaratunga of being responsible for this illegal attempt. Ananda Sagara Thero also said he could prove his allegations as he is in possession of the recording of a phone conversation.

Courtesy Adaderana

India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) today carried out raids at multiple places in Chennai and Nagapattinam.

The city offices of Wahdathe Islami Hind at Mannady and Vepery were searched by the investigating officers in connection with Easter Day blasts in Sri Lanka recently.

Three persons are being questioned in connection with the raids, sources told News Today.

According to sources, Wahdathe Islami Hind has its headquarters in Uttar Pradesh and branches at Mannady and Vepery-Poonamalle Road.

Raids began at 6 am at Lingi Chetty Street, Mannady. Following this, two persons, identified as Nizamudeen and Usman, who are said to be managing the centre, were taken in for investigation. Around the same time, NIA team also took into custody Sayyed Mohammed Buhari, the State head of the organistaion. His office, which is in an apartment complex on Vepery-Poonamallee Road, was raided as well,” sources were quoted saying.

NIA officers claimed that the group had contact with some other banned Islamic organisations. They are also inquiring if they were in touch with the perpetrators of Easter Day blast which killed 259 people and left 1,000 injured.

At Nagapattinam, the team raided places in Sikkal and Manjakollai and took two persons for inquiry. They were identified as Hassan Ali and Haris Mohammed.

The NIA team is also probing if they were plotting to murder Hindu leaders. It is said this group communicated via social media.

Based on the Central government’s order, NIA is on a pan-India operation to remove any Islamic State (ISIS) support groups, the media report said.

Investigations revealed that the terrorists involved in the Sri Lanka blasts have had connections with Kerala and Tamilnadu. They allegedly visited both States often and roamed freely.

NIA claims the Wahdathe Islami Hind had an association with banned outfit SIMI. Further searches and investigations are under way.

On 12 June, the NIA had conducted raids at seven locations in Coimbatore in connection with an ISIS module case. And in May, NIA sleuths conducted raids at a house in Kattumannarkoil, Chidambaram.

Source: India Today

-Agencies

Punsara Amarasinghe, PhD researcher,Institute of Law and Politics, Scuola Superiore Sant Anna,Pisa,Italy          

The predictions made by larger number of academics based in Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta about Indian General elections vouching that Narendra  Modi would not get his second term as prime minister were shattered in reality as Modi could uphold his strong position better than the previous time resulting a steeping success of his Bharatiya Janatha Party which won 302 seats in Indian Lok Saba. The election result has palpably shown a shocking decline of India’s largest political party National Congress led by Rahul Gandhi as Congress could solely win only 52 seats in the legislature. The gob smacking results of the election seems to have given a clear picture of voters pulsation as the ground reality in the sub-continent albeit many pundits made pro congress predictions while accusing Modi’s  poor economic policy and demonetization as two major factors behind the economic crisis India has been facing now.

However, the Himalayan image Indian premier has built up on himself among countries majority Hindu population has been mainly attributed to his stanch belief in Hindu ideology and his image seems to have depicted as a Hindu messiah who has come to regain the deserving place for nationalist forces. It is an important question to focus whether such ideological attitudes possessed by Modi and his Bharatiya Janatha Party would make impacts upon carving India’s foreign policy for next five years. Before reaching the position of Indian premier’s approach towards foreign affairs, particularly regarding South Asia, it becomes an interesting factor to trace how Indian foreign policy on South Asian states were shaped under Gujral Doctrine which happened to be a milestone in Indian foreign policy when it was rendered by minister of external affairs in Dev Gowda’s government in 1996. Basic mantra of Gujral doctrine affirmed India being the larger power in South Asia should not ask for reciprocity, but gives all that it could in good faith to the neighboring countries like Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Bangladesh. Notably Pakistan was excluded from this benefited category and it further elucidated that no country would allow to be used against the interest of another country in the region. One of another pivotal principle of Gujral doctrine was the noninterference of the internal affairs of the neighboring countries and resolving disputes through amicable bilateral negotiations.

This doctrine has been regarded as a strategy initiated by Mr. Gujral in reducing the influence of both Pakistan and China in a hostile manner while upholding a stable peace with other neighbors. In fact, this doctrine has played an indispensible role as a major principle for many prime ministers since 1996 though none of them had officially admitted the influence of Gujral doctrine over their foreign policy mechanism. Yet the changing winds of Indian foreign policy seems to be evident after the astonishing victory of Narendra  Modi and it would be an interesting task to assess how would Gujral doctrine prevail before the galactic persona of Modi as a leader who seeks much dominating authority in his foreign relations in South Asia. Since Modi became premier in India, its foreign policy was heavily affected by his personal aura and besides his troublesome past of his alleged involvement in the communal violence of Gujarat in 2002 during his tenure as its chief minister, many countries have received him with awe and Russia honored Modi by awarding him the highest state decoration called Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle in 2019.

In understanding his foreign policy for his second term, it becomes salient that his famous slogan neighborhood first” is likely to continue, at least nominally. But the truth in reality is Narendra Modi’s sole personal image driven by his Hindutva ideology would make some lasting impacts in foreign relations with India’s immediate neighbors and beyond it. The next notable factor appears to be stunning in Modi’s foreign policy is that contrary to India’s fervent position of defending secularism, the space for religious diplomacy has rapidly increased for past few years in India’s foreign policy. In the contest between China and India as rivals for decades, it is a question beyond doubt that Chinese political, militarily and economic powers are far ahead of India, yet in terms of soft power mechanism India has successfully forged ahead and Modi’s approach to his foreign relations too has taken a special interest in portraying India’s spiritual legacy to the world extensively as propaganda tool. For example during most of his foreign tours as premier, Modi paid frequent visits to major Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh sacred sites, also his active role in introducing June  21^st  as International Yoga Day shows his effort in propagating India’s ancient practice of meditation yoga as a soft power tool beyond the sub-continent.  The utmost veneration towards Indic religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism as an important feature in foreign policy had not been a principle practiced by previous Indian prime ministers since Nehru who was a doyen of secularism. On the other hand the notion of Hindutva stemming from Modi’s political party BJP and his personal ideology may confront with carving the foreign policy of India generally. The notion that Hindutva involves an obsession with national power needs to be placed in its historical context. V. D. Savarkar, M. S. Golwalkar, H. V. Sheshadri, and other stalwarts who developed its ideational foundations believed that the golden age of ancient Hindu civilization had been lost owing to material and moral weakness, which had brought it under the prolonged subjugation of Muslim and Christian/ British power. The great iconic personality he has been creating abroad as leader coming from a greater civilization and his ardor of using Hindi as the language of communication in his foreign state visits even though he is well versed in Hindi are the most notable examples showing the way of his foreign policy driven by Hidututva ideology.

Modi’s beginning of his first term was quite optimistic in terms of his attitude to India’s immediate neighbors in South Asia and this was visible as all South Asian leaders were invited to his inaugural ceremony in Delhi in 2014, but throughout his first term it was evident that Modi could not keep his grip over India’s neighbours like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bangladesh where Chinese influence have appeared to be a predominant factor. For instance New Delhi was alleged to have some involvement in toppling former president Mahinda Rajapakse from power yet his successor Maithripala  Sirisena and government of Sri Lankan premier Ranil Wickramasinghe have not been able to completely get rid of Chinese presence in Sri Lanka despite both personalities are known for their pro Indian policies. Modi” s last few months may have brought him a sudden success from the jingoistic voters from Hindu mainstream in India as last February India’s jet fighters crossed into Pakistan territory and engaged in aerial combat in first time in nearly 50 years. In India’s history since independence several prime ministers had confronted Pakistan militarily, yet the propaganda used by Modi convinced the people only he is able to keep India secure from Pakistan.

Cardinal approach likely to be adopted during Modi’s second term on Indian foreign policy has much idealistic feature to uphold Indian hegemony in South Asia and moreover Modi’s foreign policy would pay a much attention in using soft power as a greater strategy in India’s path to global governance. Rise of Xi Jinping as China’s powerful assertive president and his astute actions on expanding Belt and Road initiative across South Asia seems to have created a sneaking agitation in India for past few years. In such a situation Modi’s foreign policy for next four years five years would be decisive in terms of uplifting India’s image a key player.

Prof. Harendra de Silva President Sri Lanka Medical Council

Reference web publication :

Terminate Civil Rights of Rajitha

and social media dissemination regarding claims about the SLMC.

1. I was appointed as the President SLMC by the Hon.Minister since January 2019. However to date he has not influenced me on any matter in relation to the proper functioning of the activities of the SLMC.
2. It is the members of the council that decide on the functions of the SLMC.
   The council consists of, a. President and members appointed by the Minister. b. Dean/Representatives of State Medical/Dental Faculties. c. Members elected to the council.
   Under the elected categories there are four members who represents the GMOA. 3. I wish to emphasize that the primary objective of the SLMC is to safeguard the rights of patients/people. Unfortunately we have no members that represent public in the council.
   It is not a secret that the GMOA safeguards the rights and privileges of doctors which is acceptable, but their political affiliations are transparent. Therefore it is possible that their opinions in the council are influenced by these factors. It is mandatory that the minister in charge of an institution, and in this instance the Minister of Health is responsible for all decisions based on statute and any amendments should be recommended by him, through the cabinet to the parliament. 4. The SLMC ordinance came in to effect in 1927 more than 90 years ago. There have been amendment from time to time. However an overall change in the ordinance is necessary in order to protect the rights of the people/patients and to eliminate as much as possible persons with conflict of interests.
   The proposal to change the ordinance is timely since the ordinance is archaic.
   The cabinet paper was presented for this purpose based on a concept paper developed by a five members committee appointed by the Minister of Health which comprised of the former Attorney General. The proposed task force to draw up a new enactment will consist of a wide spectrum of professionals and lay people in the formulation of the amendments.
3. Doctors’ trade unions are there to protect the rights of doctors. But not to protect the rights of the patients. I wish this clarifies the allegations made in the GMOA website, against the SLMCA.
4. Prof. Harendra de Silva President Sri Lanka Medical Council

Kanthar Balanathan, Australia

SriLanka

The contents of this article should be propagated to all SriLankan citizens, especially the Sinhalese and Tamils.   

Analysis

Buddhism is a non-violence advocating philosophy. In the early centuries, the Sinhale were quite peaceful and unobtrusive loving people. The Indians from Pandinadu, Cholanadu, Pallavas came into the island and mass murdered the Sinhale in order to conquer power. The poor Sinhale were quite soft and gave into the invaders. That is how the Tamils were able to settle in all the areas in the South and there are Hindu temples in the South. It is not the Jaffna man who built these temples, but the Indians. Jaffna Tamils cannot beat around the bush that they built these temples thousands of years ago.

During the Portuguese/Dutch era, Portuguese and half cast Portuguese/Dutch known as Burgers held positions in the Police, army, Navy and Air Force and to be selected into the Navy one must be white in color. The Sinhale have undergone through various atrocities and oppression by the invaders: Portuguese, Dutch and the British. The British colonized the highland with Indian labor brought from Tamil Nadu, Andra, and Malabar. The Tamils were not at all in sympathy with the Sinhale but got all that they want from the Dutch and the British.

Sri Lankans did not get their independence through war or struggle but was given on a silver tray. This indicates the value of independence to the Sinhale and Tamils. Means nothing to both races. The Soulbury and the Donomore constitutions mean nothing to them but was training in politics. After independence people elected unscrupulous and incompetent leaders except DSS focussed on structural transformation like Galoya etc. However, DSS also made a severe slip-up of disfranchising one million Tamils, which could have been done before receiving the Independence. Every leader afterward made severe racial & and silly faults and directed the country to degrade to the worst state. The Champion as JRJ giving in to the Indians. JRJ’s nephew has wrecked the country to the worst level by trying to give in to federalism which will be a catastrophic failure to SriLanka if passed by the parliament. Tamils cannot run a federal state because of the differences and hatred they carry towards the Sinhale, caste differences among the Tamils, and religious differences. It may end up with another caste war in the North.

An example: Since independence, what have the Tamil MPs done to the North apart from fighting for Tamil Eelam? Since NPC was given to the Tamils and the NPC was formally opened in 2013, CV Vigneswaran was elected the Chief Minister. What has he done apart from talking in competition with the FP clowns for missing persons? Okay: the recently appointed Suren Raghavan: What has he done to the North on development and people’s sustainability on fixed earnings through work, private work, etc? Several young boys and girls have been subjected to sexual attacks and rapes. These are the young future of the nation. Cannot the Governor use his power to curtail these types of sexual incidents? How can he focus on development if he could be added to the incompetent nincompoops’ lists? One MP demanded his brother to be given a Minister position in the NPC.

It is recommended that the GOSL shall appoint a team to investigate the blemishes, imperfections, bribery, corruptions that the former NPC council ministers and members and the current Governor have done so far. These people are responsible for the citizens of SL. So many imperfections have occurred in the North but with lack of focus by the Governor and the GOSL.

https://epaper.thinakaran.lk/PaperArticle.aspx?imageId=pg05_0&&ndate=2019%2F07%2F08&fbclid=IwAR0xf3RZqjTaVTm7Btm5QVzbSlxGMlkfxRM2f_buOE3IEhUzXmLhBQooim0

SriLankan politicians enter politics to earn and fill their coffer, not to serve the public. The reason is that they have to spend funds from their coffer at the elections as collateral for a vote. What it means is that the politicians buy votes from the people. Hence the people have no right to protest on bribery and corruption. The main culprits are the people (voters) who sell their votes. Can the people understand this corruption?

The recent attack on the deprived, underprivileged Catholics at the St. Anthony’s Church by the Mad Islamists is a conspiracy. Why the Tamil Catholics? It is like an Indian movie. Create a precarious & explosive situation and make people crawl into a nervous state. All the racial riots are similar incidents. One of the dirtiest, animalistic acts was to gouge the eyes of Kuttimani (TELO) and kill him in jail by the rioters in July 1983. Of course, this act must have been done under supervision by the jail guards and police. This is against Buddhism. Therefore, it is of the view that there is no difference between the Islamophobia infected Muslims, Sinhale Buddhists, and the Cruel animalistic murderous LTTE. The TNA consists of racial hatred politicians: Sambanthar was in love with the Leader of Opposition (LOP) position cos of the Police guards, palace, car, etc provided to the LOP. He is definitely a FOOL. Instead of the LOP position, Sambanthar should have joined the GOSL and accepted three or four Ministerial positions and focussed on developing the North and the Country. He was selfish and self-centered as a normal Tamil. Quite often he comes in the media and makes a statement; I am fighting for the missing persons”. The FOOL may not know that these missing persons may be down in the Indian ocean or earning money overseas and spoiling the youths in the North. When will these fools get rational and free thinking? It is only Mano Ganesan appeared in the media condemning the serious terror attack with TEARS. Where was Sampanthan? Where was CV Vigneswaran? Where was Suren Raghavan? COWARDS? Douglas is a man who does not boast, but a man of action.

The racial quarrel in the East now has started by the Muslims. They are determined to make the East a Muslim state and crawl into the South through bombing and intimidating the poor Sinhale. Maybe In 25 years, the Muslims will convert SriLanka into a Muslim state (Wahabi) and then Buddha may have to relocate to another country. Already Buddha has started to relocate to other countries anyway.

The illiterate Sinhale have been voting to politicians who are weak in politics but rich in making money. The UNP, Ranil, etc gang have become a slave to the West. Let us study the history of the Balkans, Sudan, Iraq, and Bangladesh. They have become the worst beggars except for Serbia. We can find them in other countries like Australia. Even most Sinhalese have migrated from SL and are doing well in other countries because SL does not respect educated academics and professionals.

Solution

People shall be enlightened and vote for the right candidate. In the forthcoming election for the Presidency most clowns, entertainers, movies stars, immature sports stars, illiterates, uneducated suckers, dupes, hoodwinks, eight standards educated who claim they are from London School of Economics in Wikipedia, may enter the election purely for the purpose of creatively dividing the votes. I viewed an advertisement by Kumar Sangakkara in a media show showing his five fingers for solidarity and force. This is purely a child affair and is an old example. Is this gentleman fit to run for the presidency of a country full of educated academics and professionals? Politics and governance are not playing cricket. People: Please do not be taken by this false propaganda in Wikipedia, media by cheap people.

The Rajapaksa team is the best for SL. Gotabaya Rajapaksa (GR) is the best patriotic, methodically planning intellectual fit to govern SL. People in SL should know this and vote with a free mind to GR. If for any circumstances GR will not contest in the presidential elections, people of SL should vote for the Rajapaksa TEAM and NOT sell their vote for cash or wealth to unpatriotic politicians. People should understand whether they want SL for cash for their short pleasure or save the country from bribery and corruption and protect SriLankan sovereignty. The country is for our future generation.

People: You have not forgotten the Central Bank robbery of Billions of dollars of BOND irregular sale, and the person who sold the BONDS is still in Singapore and people who associated with the sale are still in SL How about ACSA and SOFA agreement.

Anjalika Silva Sri Lankan American Community member

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/after-easter-sunday-attacks-muslims-face-boycotts-and-violence-in-sri-lanka/2019/07/06/3e4a405a-91f6-11e9-956a-88c291ab5c38_story.html?utm_term=.8745a1f0c4f4

The above article that appeared in the Washington Post on Monday July 8, 2019 singles out the occurrence of reaction by the citizens of Sri Lanka against the recent extremist Islamic violence portrayed as Muslims being under siege with insinuations of unfair treatment of Muslims as a rule.  The recent coordinated attacks in Sri Lanka in 6 places within minutes of each other killing close to 300 men women and children in churches and luxury hotels in one clean sweep of coordinated attacks is not something to keep a country complacent.  In addition, over 500 are injured with life altering injuries. This kind of carnage is not anything new in the vision of the world that has witnessed Islamic extremism fast spreading to obliterate the traditional practices of Islam throughout the world.

Why is Sri Lanka isolated from other countries that are facing similar issues?  Why is Sri Lanka singled out for trying to protect its people and all traditional religions?  Why are only the Buddhists blamed for reacting when the Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and moderate Muslims face the same danger of extremist brutality?  It is not a perfect world to not have some reaction to such high numbers of casualties.  To direct the reaction as faith-based attacks implying that it came from a Buddhist Nationalist group is a deliberate attempt at the confirmed Buddhist bashing that has become a theme of the international media. 

How does one assume that any of the attackers to be solely Buddhists?  The Easter attacks were directed at the Catholic churches.  Why are Buddhists blamed without proof? The entire country is angry, grieving and living in fear.  It is not only Muslims but all those who don’t conform to the radical Islam of the Saudi supported Wahabi form that is rammed down people are in danger.

These questions must be answered by the Washington Post reporter who has not understood the root of the problem or fails to do so blatantly ignoring the recent violence against one of their own – Jamal Khashoggi a Saudi dissident. It is the possibility of the same violence that Sri Lankans fear because of the push to annihilate all religions with only two choices.  One, to convert to extreme Islam and live, or refuse and die by beheading or any other means. This is the Saudi sponsored Wahabism that is causing a problem to moderate Muslims also in Sri Lanka.  If they are concerned for their safety, how much more should non-muslims fear for their lives?  This applies to all people in the cross wires of a fanatical drive to push their flavor of Islam throughout the globe. 

The article is more sympathetic to the material loss of business and buildings over the loss of life deliberately destroyed.  Regardless of the faith, this is completely wrong and yet it continues globally with countries more powerful than Sri Lanka bracing for attacks.

If there is a fall out from this event against all muslims, it is to be expected because the moderate muslims are as much victims of this tragedy.   They cannot denounce the extremists to suffer threats to their lives to a far greater extent than illustrated in the article that pinpoints to the majority race the Sinhalese among whom are majority Buddhists, viewed and assumed as a threat. Recognizing the right or real threat is the bottom line here. It is convenient to ignore the root cause – the jihadist attacks and skip to those who react.

The Washington Post needs to be balanced in reporting sporadic incidents of the fate of material business and understand fully the implications of the fate that awaits the people of Sri Lanka with the risk to their life if nothing is done about it.  Patience of the people is fast running out.

The current situation is that all citizens of the country across religious lines are coming together because they realize the gravity of the situation.  The lead to the group and one of the most vocal proponents of the need for action is Cardinal Malcom Ranjit the head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka who has fearlessly come forward to join the Buddhist clergy with the common goal of saving all traditional believers from the plans for widespread Jihad. Further plans for destruction have been revealed following the swift action and investigations by the security forces in the country.

Historically Sri Lanka that survived invasions by the Portuguese, Dutch and British have saved the country with extreme sacrifice and action of the patriots that include the Buddhist clergy who have their own way of expressing their patriotism through which they have protected all religious and ethnic groups in the history of the country.  That is a given and no reporter in the international media understands their role.  In the 30-year war too, there was mass slaughter of Buddhist monks by terrorists, slaughter of Muslims in prayer in the very area that was home to the leader of the recent extremist bombing. Thousands of dead from suicide bombs never had their day because terrorists are non-state players who walk free with no accountability for human rights.

This is not only applicable to Sri Lanka.  The US also will do well to focus their attention to take note of how operations were carried out in places of religious worship, under cover with the abuse of religious freedom afforded to all groups in Sri Lanka.   No one wants the brutal bloodshed and beheadings, suicide bombings to destroy one of the most beautiful, peaceful spiritual nations in the world that has seen Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and moderate Muslims living peacefully without the radicalization that is going on today and brutal consequences in the name of religion.    Nor do they wish to have the laws of the country substituted by Sharia Law that doesn’t offer justice to its people. 

Before the Easter Sunday attacks, vandalism at Buddhist Temples

Leading up to the bombing of the churches on Easter Sunday, over twenty Buddhist temples were vandalized and the individual leading those attacks was also the leader of the pack of suicide bombers who were known but never apprehended until they caused all the damage. Valuable Buddhist statues at temples were mutilated and this was also an organized attack as a prelude to bigger and more violent attacks on living worshippers.  These actions received very little media attention and the government took extra precautions to protect a backlash against Muslims by keeping it away from national news.

Is the Washington Post ignoring the global trend of Islamic extremism that has hit Sri Lanka? 

The article refers to boycott of Muslim businesses and sporadic attacks by angry mobs with an element of sympathy using anecdotal incidents. The reporter may not have encountered or interviewed customers who decided to boycott some businesses.   There are those who experienced the crudest treatment from eating houses that they decided to boycott.  Some non-Muslims have reported firsthand that their food was contaminated with human excreta and as word got around, those eating places were boycotted for obvious reasons.  It takes only one for reaction to all.  The actions of hate found their way to food outlets too.   Can one blame the boycotts?  Isn’t it obvious?  These are anecdotal reports from individuals who experienced firsthand.

Stocks of Buddhist robes, white garments and military like uniforms, weapons, explosives found buried in mosques

The reference in some media reports to mob attacks attributed to Buddhist monks has a strange connotation.  The discovery of huge quantities of Buddhist robes worn by monks buried in mosque premises deserves to be queried.  Most of the attackers could not be identified by the chief incumbents of Buddhist temples because they were imposters.  Another deliberate move to discredit Buddhism. 

There is an obvious explanation for the discovery of a large quantity of white clothing found buried in mosques and other places to be used for disguise in mingling with Buddhist devotees for a planned attack at temples.  White attire is worn by Buddhists as simple garb when they attend Buddhist festivals.  

It was recently revealed that there were plans to destroy the most sacred Buddhist shrine, the Temple of the Tooth in the country that enshrines the relics of the Buddha.  Sri Lanka is a spiritually rich country with prayers in every faith and it will be protected from these fanatics to a greater extent than one can believe.

There is also a strange find of military like uniforms buried in the premises supposed to be for religious worship.  According to the Indian Intelligence reports, there is a warning of an impending attack on India and Sri Lanka by Jihadists wearing military like attire.  This is yet to be proven, but if it does happen, the Washington Post better be alert that the Indian authorities are just as concerned.  The discovery of mass scale catches of weapons and explosives obviously gives credibility to their findings.

It is not accurate that a reputable newspaper in the capital of the world in Washington DC to present a one-sided picture of the situation in Sri Lanka and imply that terrorists who are Islamic extremists who catalyzed the situation should not be a reason for the victims to react. This should be challenged by moderate Muslims too.  Claiming faith-based attacks accusing a Buddhist Nationalist Group is preposterous when up to and until this event on April 21, all religions in Sri Lanka had the freedom to practice their faith and there was no forced murderous killing of individuals while in prayer.  The Buddhist Nationalists are coming together through patriotism and they have no affiliation to any armed group outside Sri Lanka and it is an exaggeration to paint a picture that they will take to arms.  They have no such capability.

All Muslims are only 9.3% of the population and they came to Sri Lanka as traders in 8 A.D., when Buddhism has existed in Sri Lanka since 250 BC.  With 70% of the Sinhalese people who make up about 72% of the population of 21.6 Million being followers of Buddhism, the rest of the Sinhalese majority are followers of Christianity.   The situation on the ground is one that has brought together all segments of the population that feel threatened by extremism.

This article written without due consideration for the big picture is a pitiful illustration of a very dangerous situation. Some of the suicide bombers were well educated in western countries and from affluent families enjoying power in professions and business circles in addition to political roles.  It is the scenario we see in countries like France, UK and other places that have provided refuge to radicals who now disturb their peace by making demands that are beyond reasonable.

According to experts, this is clearly a push for new grounds for their caliphate with the footing lost due to US bombings and the displacement of ISIS that is the influence behind the forceful conversion of an entire nation that has only two choices, death or forced conversion to a radical form.

This is not how Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans want to live.  When they protect their country, the interpretation of international media has taken on a role of Buddhist bashing and it must be reminded that the Sinhalese Buddhists are fearless about guarding Sri Lanka as a world minority of only 17 million in the entire world,  while accommodation all other ethnic and religious groups in their midst to exist peacefully.  In Sri Lanka, every religious holiday for Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim followers are mandated government paid holidays.  Taking aim at the majority as spreading faith-based attacks as the norm is baseless and inaccurate.  It is more accurate to indicate that there are undercurrents to eliminate all non-muslims from the entire country with no regard for human life. The Government of Sri Lanka has taken measures to protect Muslims over and above the majority to prevent a backlash. There is every possibility that this situation can be taken advantage of if it is not monitored diligently.

Recently a Buddhist monk and a Hindu priest went on a hunger strike because of this issue demanding the removal of ultra-powerful Muslim cabinet members who were loyal to the perpetrators of this carnage. See the confession of a Jihadist who mentions them by name.  (The names have been removed for the personal safety of this writer)

With the emergence of extremism, the hardliners who were radicalized became a force that was recognized and feared mostly by the moderate Muslims in the country.  They made representations to the government about the activities that were going on under cover because the danger to them was as bad as to other religions.  It is not a wonder that with the severity of the recent attacks, people of all religions and ethnicities including the moderate Muslims live in fear? 

This is also a common issue considering the occurrences in bigger and more powerful nations faced with the push from extreme Islam followers trying to rule in their host countries with no go” zones and a push for Sharia Law.

The extract from a Jihadist’s confession below will be an eye opener.  Ironically his appeal was sent to the very Buddhist Nationalist Group referred to in this article.  This letter was his ultimate salvation from the brainwashing that he underwent for nine years to turn him from being human to a barbarian trained to kill even his own people perceived as a threat to the religion with no basis for verification.  All in the name of man-made religious beliefs.   This confession is a translation from reputable sources.

How a brainwashed Jihadist confessed plans in detail to the Buddhist Nationalist Group mentioned above

The letter from a Jihadist going back to 2014 that was revealed in the light of recent attacks.

This is a translation of a letter received by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) organization (the Buddhist Nationalist Group referred to in the article)  in Sri Lanka that was a much-maligned by the government as an organization for pointing out the secret activities of the radicals in the country as confirmed by this Jihadist.  The Buddhist monk heading the organization was sent to jail for several years.  He was released after April 21 attacks came to fruition proving his findings to be true facts.

The BBS spokesperson who revealed this is a Buddhist monk, in a video statement online. He has declared that this is not being revealed to cause any harm, anger to resentment toward any segment of the community to hurt their feelings or cause fear. This is revealed for the seriousness of the contents as revealed by the writer, a young radicalized Jihadist who wants it to be known.

The original letter was written in Tamil and an authentic translation was made with the help of a reporter of a leading Tamil newspaper the Virakesari. The handwritten Tamil letter translated into Sinhala is in the hands of the BBS organization.

The English translation of the confession of the Jihadist from the letter is as follows: (The words here are the words of the brainwashed Jihadist)

I ask you to read this letter from top to bottom more than once recommends the writer and he adds that every word in this letter is true.

He says think about the contents.  I confirm that every fact is true. (Words from the Jihadist that prefaced the actual confession)

I was born and raised in the Muslim environment and knew only about Allah” and  as I grew up all I heard in my life was about the harm done to Muslims by other believers and religions.  My village had small mosques and in a close by town there was a larger mosque.  Some of the folks in my village had connections with the larger mosque.  When I was about 15 years old, I got a chance to attend the larger mosque with some folks who had connections to the larger mosque and I too got a chance.  Those who attended this mosque had revolutionary ideas.  Their talk centered around how to deal with the other believers outside Islam. After a while I too accepted their ideas and believed that to protect our belief, we must destroy others to save our religion.  The main aim of discussion was the elimination of all other believers.  In order to do so we were prepared to commit genocidal attacks on all others except muslims. We were ready to eliminate everyone except muslims and create an Islamic state.

We received special talks too.    One day we had a visitor, from a foreign land at our mosque.  A discussion ensued.  He preached that we must be ready make the whole world Muslim and that we must be ready to do anything to achieve that and concentrate on Sri Lanka. This is what he said and invited us to join a special organization. We were impressed with the idea and agreed immediately.  We didn’t know the name, or the organization didn’t have a name.  We were not sure whether it was Jihad but later found out it was not Jihad and that it was the mother organization. Many people didn’t know for sure the real organization structure or name.  We were told that the name need not be known, and that Jihad was just a cover to mislead those who were seeking to find out about us.

We didn’t care if it didn’t have a name.  They avoided naming the organization getting known.  I got to know this after 7 years with the organization.  Jihad name was to mislead because Jihad the known name was being watched while they operated with a bigger mother organization that had spread throughout the world.  Most people didn’t know this. I was proud to be in this organization. Due to my contribution, after 9 years I was able to get a big position and at that time I was 26 years old.  I was empowered to kill anyone to spread Islam and establish a Muslim country in Sri Lanka. To establish Islamic state, I was ready to kill anyone, and we were trained well without being visible to the outside world.

I learned to read and write the Sinhala language (language of the majority ethnic group and majority of the Sinhalese people are Buddhist) and I looked like a Sinhalese in my appearance.

At this point the organization gave me something special.  That is, identification papers changing me to a Sinhalese with a new name and all the necessary papers to disguise myself as a Sinhalese. I was given a special assignment to go to the Sinhala community and learn as much as possible about them and I was able to travel to any part of the country. 

At this point I was also informed that every office or establishment throughout the country had people who were prepared like I was, and they were established in such places for many years.  Some of these folks were in this role for around 30 to 40 years and some were Sinhala people, but they were converted to become like us.  I was given a code word to identify similarly trained people.  I am going to reveal that code in this letter.  When it becomes known the organization members will be disturbed.  That is what I want to make known.  The code word was madei” which when softly spoken they reply to confirm they are in the movement.  This is the code word worldwide.  These people continue to operate in every sphere even today.

This way they infiltrated all the areas of work in the country.  Every government department, military, air force, airports, banks, police, and all other places they have infiltrated and are not known or visible from the outside.

 Ports and airports were the most important and we have got things done the way we want.  Due to political instability we had advantages.  We also dealt with those who didn’t agree to what we wanted done.  These people who worked in ports were taken to the middle of the sea and murdered for not agreeing to carry out what we wanted done. Then we spread the word that they went overseas.  Among us are Government politicians that include two (Muslim Ministers – Name 1 withheld, Name 2 withheld but widely known in local media). These ministers in the government are our biggest members.

About 3 years ago they gave me a special assignment.  They made use of my appearance that looked like a Sinhalese.  Sent me to a Buddhist organization and made a member.  I was asked to learn all the inside working of the Buddhist organization with my Buddhist Sinhala identification documents.  I was not given details, but I realized that what I was expected to do was a very serious act of genocide and mass destruction.  I was also brain washed with the desire to carry out such acts.  They asked me to study the festivals and when and where their festivals were to be held and where people were to gather. I was able to get a good insight into their activities and passed the information on.  I was told to stay in the same place, and I was ready for the next step as they said the next step will take place there.

I was with the Sinhala people for 3 years in this environment.  This is when things started to change. My attitude started to change, and I realized that the Sinhala people were more civilized than I had believed.  By then my commitment in the Islamic organization had gone far beyond a point when I could turn around.  If I had changed at this point, I would have been killed by the Islamic organization.  So, I stayed quiet and time passed.  My organization did not notice a change in me.

Then two weeks or so before writing this letter, I was given the second stage of their plan.  This plan was to be in Anuradhapura (An ancient historic capital of Buddhist heritage) where a big Buddhist festival offering of Jasmine flowers was to take place on June 5th.  There were plans in place to cause a disturbance there.  I was not able to let this happen.  Therefore, I exposed this plan. To prevent this is for you to take over.

At a time, next month there was a plan to take over this country.  But due to incidents at Aluthgama, (a place where there was unrest between Muslims and villagers) these plans were postponed as I have learned. 

As I told you we have our people in all institutions in this country and worldwide in every country.  With the help of our people there is a plan to disrupt all communication channels and mess things up. Then a group was to come from overseas and bring the weapons and people, for us to take over this country by morning.  All this is the absolute truth.  In order to achieve this, we have hidden weapons in the country in preparation.  In every mosque we have 300 swords and in some there are weapons with ammunition too.”

End of the contents made public, but it is assumed there is more.

History of 30 years of terrorism, winning peace in 2009 and the start of a new era of terrorism

When security personnel carried out their investigations following the suicide bombings at Easter, they did connect remnants of terror suspects from the previous conflict who have lent their services and provided remaining weapons to this group.  Terrorism is a mindset regardless of a cause.  The outcome of destruction is inhumane.  Another definite contributing factor is that after 2009 and the peace that followed, security guidelines were dictated to by demands from UN and the US with pressure from certain sectors without regard for the ramifications to national security.   Following the attacks in April, some of the very segments of the country that wanted the military checkpoints removed were begging to have them reinstated.   

Future for Sri Lanka is bleak and uncertain for reasons that are known globally

According to experts, this is clearly a push for new grounds for their caliphate with the footing lost due to US bombings and the displacement of ISIS that is the influence behind the forceful conversion of an entire nation that has only two choices, death or forced conversion to a radical form. This is not how Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans want to live. 

Sri Lanka’s tolerance has been completely misconstrued. It must also be pointed out that many skilled men and women from poor families seek employment in the middle eastern nations.  It is interesting to make a study of the level of tolerance of other religions in that region to the extent of not allowing any religious books or statues beyond the airports in Muslim countries.  However, the liberal freedom in Sri Lanka has clearly been abused and now being pushed to be overrun by radicalism

As stated in the article referring to Hardline Buddhist Nationalist groups that emerged, they took a hard line because the tolerance and compassion, with patience as practiced in the Buddhist faith did not work as the revolution of hard line extremist Islam started to take over the country and the push to eliminate all religions began to be felt by all people.

The Western Media continues to subscribe to Buddhist bashing with stilted information when Buddhism is one of the most compassionate doctrines used even in the rehabilitation of prisoners in the United States.  It is not as fast growing as Islam because the depth of the philosophy requires intellectual understanding and commitment to self-discipline which is a much-needed human quality today.

It is unfortunate that all of this stems from the distortion of Islam to a man-made version of a brutal form that is more suited for those with sadistic instincts.  Moderate Muslims are caught in the middle with no freedom of expression in their own communities.

I suggest the reporter Joanna Slater of the Washington Post makes contact with people on the ground in Sri Lanka on both sides of the issue and takes the opportunity for a discussion with the Sri Lankan American Community that lives in Washington to ask pertinent questions and elicit answers about the truth. 

The Sri Lankan community will welcome your personal interaction for more accurate information that reflects the ground situation.  There is an Embassy for the country in Washington DC, that will welcome your participation to do so.  This is an open call to all journalists who wish to be balanced in their material regarding Sri Lanka. The sources welcome you to do so.  Sri Lanka must be reported accurately because throughout 30 years of war and even after peace, the international media has never been fair about the positive aspects of the country.  This can only be turned around by journalists who balance their information without bias from the right sources.

Anjalika Silva

Sri Lankan American Community member

Maryland

Sent to Joanna.slater.@washingtonpost.com

By M D P DISSANAYAKE

It is disappointing that all 5 Asian Teams out of 10 Teams in the competition failed to secure a spot in the Final.   Bangladesh and New Zealand have consistently maintained aggressive and  methodical styles of play.

We give below the historical data of previous finals with the winning team and runs scored.

YEAR   WINNING TEAM SCORE

1975    274 AUSTRALIA

1979    194 ENGLAND

1983    183 INDIA

1987     253 AUSTRALIA

1992     249 PAKISTAN

1996     245 SRI LANKA

1999     133 AUSTRALIA

2003     359 AUSTRALIA

2007     281 AUSTRALIA

2011     277 INDIA

2015     186 AUSTRALIA vs NZ 183

Statistical probability indicates a low scoring match at the business end of the Tournament. NZ bowlers appear to have a upper hand against the England.  They are back to basics, uncomplicated and pleasure to watch. Bowling at line and length is the secret for NZ success thus far. Kane Williamson’s field placements and bowling changes have shown remarkable indepth understanding of the batters mentality most of the time.

2015 runners up was NZ, players such as Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor  and Trent Boult are continuing in 2019. The current England team includes Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgain, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Joe Root and Chris Woakes from the 2015 squad.

In round-robin stage, NZ beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets whereas Sri Lanka beat England by 20 runs.

Judged by the clouds of political interference in Sri Lankan Cricket, our boys performances were below par, but not totally disappointing. At least our Sports Minister made a trip to England on tax-payers account.

Our current squad should be further developed. For the next 4 years, an established team with a long term captaincy to Dimuth Karunaratne need to be considered.    Dave Whatmore is in Sri Lanka and his contribution will be valuable in re-shaping the structure.

ප්‍රවාහන හා සිවිල් ගුවන්සේවා අමාත්‍යාංශය.

මෙරට ප්‍රවාහන ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ දැවැන්ත පෙරළියක් ඇති කරමින් Google transit විශේෂාංගය මෙරටට හඳුන්වා දීමේ මූලික ව්‍යාපෘතිය ආරම්භ වෙයි. ඒ ජාතික ගමනා ගමන කොමිසම් සභාවේ විසිපස්වැනි සංවත්සරයේදී ප්‍රවාහන සහ සිවිල් ගුවන්සේවා අමාත්‍ය අර්ජුන රණතුංග මහතාගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙනි.

ගූගල් මැප් යනු ගූගල් සේවාව ලබා දෙන අන්තර්ජාල සිතියම් සේවාවකි. එම සිතියම් සේවාවෙන් දැනට Google traffic යන විශේෂාංගය ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට විවෘතව පවතී. එම Google traffic විශේෂාංගයෙන් පෞද්ගලික ප්‍රවාහන තොරතුරු සහ පෞද්ගලික ප්‍රවාහනය සඳහා ස්ථාන සහ මාර්ග සිතියම් තොරතුරු සපයයි. නමුත් ගූගල් මැප්හි පොදු ප්‍රවාහන සේවාවේ තොරතුරු ලබා දෙන Google transit විශේෂාංගය තවමත් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට විවෘතව නොමැත. ජාතික ගමනා ගමන කොමිසම් සභාවේ විසිපස්වැනි සංවත්සර උත්සවයේදී අද සිදු කෙරුණේ එම Google transit විශේෂාංගය මෙරටට සක්‍රීය කර ගැනීම සඳහා අතවශ්‍ය වන දත්ත සමූහය ගූගල් ආයතනයට නිල වශයෙන් යොමු කිරීමයි. ඉදිරි දින කිහිපයේදී ගූගල් ආයතනය විසින් එකී දත්ත නිරීක්ෂණය කර අන්තර්ජාලයට මුදා හැරෙනු ඇති බවත් ඒ අනුව ඉතා ඉක්මනින් Google transit විශේෂාංගයෙන් ‍තොරතුරු ලබා ගැනීමේ අවස්ථාව මෙරට පොදු ජනතාවට උදා වන බවත් එම ව්‍යාපෘතියේ ‍භාරකරු, මොරටුව විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයේ ප්‍රවාහන ඉංජිනේරු අධ්‍යයනාංශයේ ජ්‍යේෂ්ඨ කථිකාචාර්ය ආචාර්ය දිමන්ත ද සිල්වා මහතා පවසයි.

මෙම සේවාව යටතේ ඔබට පොදු ප්‍රවාහනයේ තොරතුරු විශාල වපසරියකින් ලබා ගැනීමේ අවස්ථාව උදා වනවා. උදාහරණයකට ඔබට නාරාහේන්පිට පිහිටි ජාතික ගමනාගමන කොමිසම් සභාවේ සිට අනුරාධපුරය දක්වා ගමන් කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය යැයි සිතමු. එවිට මෙම Google transit විශේෂාංගයෙන් පොදු ප්‍රවාහනය භාවිත කර එනම් දුම්රිය සහ බස්රථ මඟින් අනුරාධපුරයට යා  හැකි ආකාරය සිතියම්ගතව පෙන්නුම් කරනවා. ගමනට ගතවන කාලය, බස්රථ නවත්වන ස්ථානය, පයින් යායුතු තැන්, දුම්රිය නැඟිය හැකි තැන් ආදි වශයෙන් තොරතුරු රැසක් එයින් ලබා ගත හැකියි. ඇත්තටම මෙම විශේෂාංගය දැනටමත් ජපානය, චීනය වැනි රටවල ක්‍රියාත්මක වනවා. ඉදිරි සති කිහිපයේදී අපේ රටෙත් මෙම විශේෂාංගය සක්‍රිය වනවා. එය ප්‍රවාහනයේ තොරතුරු විප්ලවයක් යැයි අපට හඳුන්වා දෙන්න පුළුවන්…”යිද ආචාර්ය දිමන්ත ද සිල්වා මහතා පැවසීය.

Google transit විශේෂාංගයෙන් මුල් අවස්ථා‍වේදී තොරතුරු ලබා ගැනීමට හැකි වන්නේ බස්නාහිර පළාතේදී පමණි. දෙවැනි අදියරේදී සෙසු පළාත් දක්වා ව්‍යාප්ත කෙරේ. දුම්රිය, අන්තර් පළාත් බස්රථ සහ පළාත් සභා බස්රථ පිළිබඳ ‍තොරතුරු එයින් ආවරණය කෙරෙයි. දුම්රිය රතු පැහැයෙන්ද අන්තර්පළාත් බස්රථ නිල් පැහයෙන්ද පළාත් සභා බස්රථ කොළ පැහැයෙන්ද සිතියමේ දැක්වෙයි. ආචාර්ය දිමන්ත ද සිල්වා මහතා පවසන්නේ මුල් අවස්ථාවේදී කාල සටහන් ගත තොරතුරු පමණක් එම Google transit විශේෂාංගයෙන් ලබා ගැනීමට හැකි වුණත් පසුව GPS තාක්ෂණය යොදා ගනිමින් සජීවි තොරතුරු මෙම විශේෂාංගයෙන් ලබා දීමට හැකි වනු ඇති බවයි.  ඒ සඳහා අවශ්‍ය සියලු පහසුකම් ලබා දෙන බවද ප්‍රවාන සහ සිවිල් ගුවන්සේවා අමාත්‍ය අර්ජුන රණතුංග මහතා මෙහිදී සහතික කළේය.

තාමත් බොහෝ අය ජාතික ගමනා ගමන කොමිසම් සභාව දෙස බලන්නේ බස්රථ සඳහා බලපත්‍ර ලබා දෙන ආයතනයක් ලෙස. නමුත් ජාතික ගමනා ගමන කොමිසම් සභාවෙන් විය යුත්තේ ලයිෂන් ලබා දීම නොමෙයි. මගේ පෞද්ගලික මතය නම් ජාතික ගමනා ගමන කොමිසම් සභාව කළ යුත්තේ බස්රථ නියාමනය පමණයි. එතැනට ජාතික ගමනා ගමන කොමිසම් සභාව ගෙන යාමට අවශ්‍ය ව්‍යුහාත්මක වෙනස්කම් සිදු කිරීමට අපි ඉදිරියේදී අපේක්ෂා කරනවා. ඒ වගේම Google transit විශේෂාංගය මෙරටට හඳුන්වා දීමට මුල පිරීමට හැකි වීම ගැනත් මම සතුටු වනවා. එයින් පොදු ප්‍රවාහනයට මෙරට ජනතාව ආකර්ෂණය වීමේ ප්‍රවණතාව ඉහළ යනු ඇතැයි අපි විශ්වාස කරනවා. අද අපි මුහුණ දෙන ප්‍රධාන අභියෝගය වන්නේ පොදු ප්‍රවාහනයෙන් මහජනතාව ඈත් වීම. කෙසේනමුත් මේ වන විට නැවත වරක් පොදු ප්‍රවාහනයට මෙරට ජනතාව ආකර්ෂණය වන බව නවතම දත්ත පෙන්නුම් කරමින් තිබෙනවා. Google transit වැනි විශේෂාංග හඳුන්වා දීම මඟින් එය තවදුරටත් වර්ධනය කර ගත හැකි බව මම වි‍ශ්වාස කරනවා…”යි ද අමාත්‍ය අර්ජුන රණතුංග මහතා පැවසීය. මෙම අවස්ථාවට අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් එල්. පී. ජයම්පති, ජාතික ගමනාගමන කොමිසම් සභාවේ සභාපති ජනක මල්ලිමාරච්චි ඇතුළුව සම්භාවනීය අමුත්තෝ රැසක් එක් වූහ.

ම.ප. තමීර මංජු,

ගරු අමාත්‍ය අර්ජුන රණතුංග මැතිතුමාගේ මාධ්‍ය ලේකම්,

ප්‍රවාහන හා සිවිල් ගුවන්සේවා අමාත්‍යාංශය.